


What It's Like Being a Smasher

by ArceusXN



Category: Rockman | Mega Man Classic, Super Smash Brothers
Genre: Action/Adventure, Comedy, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Heart-to-Heart, Minor Ecchi, Misadventures, Moral Lessons, Past Lives, Robot Feels, Super Smash Bros. 4 (Nintendo 3DS/Wii U Game), Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-17 14:28:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 27,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29594187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArceusXN/pseuds/ArceusXN
Summary: A series centered around Mega Man's time in Super Smash Bros. During his stay, Mega Man finds himself to be a Smasher and no longer a war-torn hero. Sometimes, he gets himself into some random shenanigans. Other times, he builds relationships with fellow Smashers and, through his experiences, learns to live a life he has always dreamed of - a normal one. Well, normal enough anyway.
Kudos: 5





	1. Pivot Grab

**Author's Note:**

> Note: Decided to upload this story here as well instead of just having it on fanfiction.net. Enjoy! 
> 
> Original Date: December 2019:  
> The Mega Man series is my most beloved franchise with the original Blue Bomber himself being my top favorite character of all time. That being said, despite all the hype years ago when he was first announced for Smash 4, it seems like Mega Man isn't really given that much appreciation on here…
> 
> …and I want to change that!
> 
> As a result, I've decided to write this series centered around Mega Man and his time in the world of Super Smash Brothers ranging from his first appearance in Smash 4 to the events of Ultimate. I just wanted to do this both out of love for the character and so that this little project can serve as a small start for me as a writer on here. (EDIT: I'll stick around Smash 4 for about the first 7 or maybe 10 chapters or so before jumping right into Ultimate for the rest of the series. I want to include some of the latest characters added to the roster and I already have a couple of ideas for the Ultimate era so stay tuned for that).
> 
> Do keep in mind that while reading these stories, I'm solely using Mega Man's design from Mega Man 11 as opposed to his design in Smash since the latter resembles his 8-bit sprite from the games a little too well. So well in fact that Mega Man looks like an over-sized, 8-year-old child devoid of emotion. Hell, he doesn't even blink like in the original games. Mega Man's new design in 11 is leagues better as it makes him look leaner, taller and more mature overall. But, I digress.
> 
> Anyway, please leave some feedback and maybe even add suggestions from time to time. I won't guarantee that I'll always use them, but I might need some inspiration for future chapters. Let's begin!

Rock restlessly paced the waiting room, his hands behind his back. He found himself face-to-face with a familiar wall before turning on his heel and making his way over to the other side of the room again. Once there, he looked out of the large window overseeing the stage and stared at the timer on the scoreboard.

Two minutes before the final round began.

The Blue Bomber let out a sigh and finally decided to settle down on one of the sofas in the room in an attempt to calm himself down. But, the boy couldn't relax at all. His body was tense, his stomach felt like a void and he could feel surges of energy like raging waves within his power core. Rock was anxious and he knew exactly why.

Master Hand had announced a new tournament that week and invited veterans and newcomers alike to join in. The rules were simple: no items, no Smash Balls, omega stages only and a stock for each fighter. The prize? Just the glory of a well-earned victory. Seeing this as an opportunity to make a good first impression, Rock trained the rest of the week by adapting to the many Smash Mechanics he was introduced to from perfect shielding, teching and even double jumping. Master Hand had first explained this to him by saying that while these restrictions made competition fair, they also ensured that no one would get hurt or even killed; a primary concern Rock had before he considered joining. While it was reassuring to know that he wouldn't hurt anyone, Rock never felt so restricted in combat.

Regardless, the Blue Bomber powered through and mastered the mechanics to the best of his ability. His hard work seemed to show too as he managed to defeat a couple of his fellow newcomers and even a few veterans like Fox McCloud. Some of the battles were grueling, but he managed to show the rest of the Smashers just what Mega Man was truly made of and he could say that with pride. However, his confidence came to a halt when he got word of who he was facing next: another veteran, but more specifically, another founding member of Super Smash Brothers.

Rock's head swam with the possibilities of who his last opponent could be. Could it be Link? Or perhaps Mario of all people? Whoever it was, he knew they were going to provide a challenge for him. They had a definitive advantage in terms of experience and knew the strengths and weaknesses of their move sets to the highest ability, which leads up to where Rock sat now.

However, the longer Rock thought about it, the more he realized just how experienced he was himself. He was Mega Man after all. He saved the world dozens of times and single-handedly defeated thousands of robots for nearly two decades. The combat was different and his skill set was sort of limited, but he knew he was more than capable of handling himself in this new environment.

Rock glanced out of the window again and saw the timer read thirty seconds. His iconic blue helmet materialized over his spiky, jet-black hair as he stood up with his fist clutched over his chest while his Mega Buster formed at his side. Whoever his opponent was, he would give it his all in this last battle.

As he heard Master Hand's booming voice announce the beginning of the final round, Mega Man stepped into the teleporter and was beamed away in a flash of light. He opened his eyes to find himself at one end of the Battlefield stage. As expected, the stage had no platforms and was just plain flat. He looked around and noticed the crowd before him.

Everyone was there.

He saw both veterans and newcomers at the stands, the latter of the group seemingly most ecstatic upon his arrival. He could see several of them cheering him on while others nodded in acknowledgment. It seems like they were happy to see one of their own make it to the finals. There was one Smasher who caught his attention the most though. Pit stared at the Blue Bomber with pure admiration before he finally jumped up from his seat and yelled out:

"Let's go, Mega Man! You've got this! Show them your Charge Shot!" the angel cheered while his arms flailed from the sides of his body.

Mega Man could feel his cheeks heat up at Pit's sudden cheer. He then sent a sheepish smile and a small wave back in response.

Pit sat down with his eyes closed and a happy sigh escaping his lips. Meanwhile, Dark Pit sat next to him with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Can you calm down!? It's my first time here yet I'm already being embarrassed!" Dark Pit angrily exclaimed.

Pit let out a nervous laugh and scratched the back of his head causing his doppelganger to groan.

"Why the hell did I have to be a clone of you?"

"Sorry, Pitoo. I'm just happy to see Mega Man of all people here. I mean look! It's actually him!"

"First of all, don't you dare call me that, especially while we're here. Second of all, yeah so what? What makes this Mega Man kid so great?"

"Oh hush, you two. The match is about to begin so let's watch without any arguments," Palutena calmly said from her seat on the other side of Pit. "Though I will admit, I've heard of Mega Man before and I'm quite interested to see what he can do!"

Dark Pit deadpanned. "Not you too, Palutena..."

Meanwhile, back on the stage, Mega Man ran a diagnostic to see if his systems were running smoothly while he waited. Just then, another fighter teleported onto the other side of the stage and his jaw dropped.

Samus Aran, clad only in her skin-tight zero suit, stepped forward. She took notice of Mega Man on the other side of the stage and stared him down with her icy-blue eyes.

Mega Man snapped out of his stupor and stared right back at her with the most hardened face he could muster. Internally, however, slight panic began to inch its way into his mind. _Wait, t_ _he Samus Aran!? I'm going against her!?_ Mega Man mentally shouted. He had heard stories about Samus from the other Smashers. From some of her intergalactic adventures and achievements to her track record in Super Smash Brothers, he knew he was in for a challenge. However, he only ever saw Samus in her bulky Varia Suit and never in the flesh. He took note of the paralyzer strapped to her hip and the jet boots on her feet, knowing he would have to keep those in mind during their battle. But then, his eyes began to wander to her golden locks, her pretty face and those piercing blue eyes that continued to stare right through him.

She was actually quite beautiful for a hardcore warrior.

Mega Man snapped out of his trance and looked up at Master Hand, who floated over the stage and began speaking.

"Let the final round begin!"

The crowd let out a hearty cheer as Master Hand held up three fingers and began to count down.

"Three!"

Samus grabbed her paralyzer and gripped it firmly with both of her hands.

"Two!"

Mega Man formed his Mega Buster on his left forearm and clutched the barrel with his right hand, his aim locked on the bounty hunter.

"One!"

Both stepped back and prepared to dash forward. Their eyes never left each other.

"GO!"

Mega Man dashed forward and fired several Mega Buster shots. Meanwhile, Samus jumped over the projectiles and used her jet boots to propel herself back to the ground and at Mega Man's position. He jumped back and narrowly avoided being crushed by her heel. Before he could recover, she lashed out with her paralyzer, the plasma stretching out like a whip and striking Mega Man with sizzling hot energy, sending him flying away. She was going to then juggle him in the air with a few up-airs but missed as Mega Man air dodged out of the way. He materialized a Metal Blade in his hand and threw it in an angle that made it so that she was struck multiple times. While Samus was being stunned and hurt by the attack, he performed a short hop and used Flame Sword to send her then scorched body flying.

The crowd was mesmerized by the battle before them. Both Mega Man and Samus kept going back and forth, exchanging blow for blow with each of their attacks. At one point, Samus seemed to have the upper hand after a swift combo with her jet boots and paralyzer, but then, after a surprising Spark Shock from Mega Man along with a few Mega Buster shots, he took the lead. It was like a dance. Whenever one of them took the lead, it was as if they were performing a dance solo of combos before the other stole the spotlight and performed their own. Eventually, both fighters would dance together with their own unique styles to create a graceful yet deadly battle of dominance on the stage.

Underneath Samus' cool exterior, she was surprised to see Mega Man keeping up with her despite his youthful appearance and recent arrival. Meanwhile, Mega Man was also surprised to see a human defending herself so well. Regardless of the Smash Mechanics making it so that both were roughly in the same league of power, the Blue Bomber was amazed by her movement and prowess in combat. He had never seen a human perform feats like this. Perhaps there was more to her than he initially thought?

His thoughts were cut short when he took a jet boot to the face and flew off the stage. She rocketed into the air with blinding blue speed before she came crashing back down in an attempt to spike him into the blast zone. Mega Man air dodged just in time and summoned Rush in a flash of red light. The robotic canine used the spring on his back to launch his owner upwards towards the edge which he grabbed when he was within reach. Mega Man looked down below to see Rush bark happily at him in midair before he teleported away.

Mega Man couldn't help but smile. "Thanks, Rush!"

However, his moment was cut short when Samus' paralyzer caught the edge near his hand. He turned and saw that she was quickly rising back up to the stage.

Quickly, he hoisted himself over the edge and landed back on the stage, immediately cooking up a plan. _She's too fast, I've got to slow down her movements._ Mega Man thought. _What do I have in my arsenal that can keep her still?_ A metaphorical light bulb shone brightly over his head as an idea hit him.

Just then, Samus hoisted herself back on the stage with a slam of her heel. Before she could move however, Mega Man quickly fired something that tightly stuck to her abdomen. She looked down and her eyes widened.

A Crash Bomb.

Mega Man then began firing his Mega Buster at her, forcing Samus to summon her shield. Meanwhile, Pit went crazy at his seat in the stands, earning another glare from his dark counterpart.

"Oooo Mega Man's got Samus now! He has her trapped with his Crash Bomb and Mega Buster shots while she's stuck in her shield!" Pit shouted excitedly. "It's a matter of choice now. Does Samus test her shields durability against the assault and risk getting her shield broken? Or does she attempt an escape route where Mega Man might be waiting for her anyway?"

"That's right, Pit," Palutena said as she witnessed the scene before her. "Mega Man managed to put her fast movements to a halt so he can potentially dish out some punishment of his own. However, she has more than just two options to choose from here..."

Samus had to think fast. She grit her teeth as she watched her shield diminish after every Mega Buster shot made contact. Meanwhile, the Crash Bomb ticked away on her stomach with orange flashes of light from its center. To finish off his opponent's shield, Mega Man fired a quick Charge Shot from his Mega Buster. Upon seeing this however, she rolled forward towards the Blue Bomber and passed his Charge Shot. With the short distance between them, Samus dashed forward after she rolled in an attempt to have the Crash Bomb latch onto him instead.

Just as Mega Man expected.

Once she got close enough that the Crash Bomb latched onto his body, he dashed past her immediately afterwards to give it right back to her again. Her eyes slightly widened in horror as the explosive then blew up in her face. She went flying high into the air where Mega Man was in hot pursuit below. He switched to Air Shooter and fired several small tornadoes at her in an attempt to bring her to the blast zone above. She managed to air dodge away from the onslaught and landed on the far end of the stage.

She looked up only to find Mega Man making a mad dash towards her, a smirk across his face. Mega Man knew he had the advantage here. If he was right, due to the high amount of damage she took and the fact she was lighter and therefore easier to send flying into the blast zone, Samus would resort to keeping her distance away from him. Sure enough, he was right as the bounty hunter attempted to roll past him when he was close enough. Mega Man foresaw this and sharply turned around to perform a pivot grab.

That pivot grab was what caused Mega Man to lose the tournament that day.

The Blue Bomber, confident that he had won and hasty in his efforts to catch the bounty hunter, aimed a little too low when he performed the grab. Samus let out a small gasp as she felt his gloved hand grab her. Mega Man was just about to enact the next phase of his plan with a victorious shout before he saw what had happened.

His eyes darted to Samus' face. Her steely gaze was replaced with one of utter shock while her face was covered with a brilliant shade of red. Her lips were parted as if she wanted to say something, but nothing came out. Slowly, Mega Man lowered his eyes down Samus' body until he found his hand… tightly gripping her round butt.

The crowd looked on in silence… until the reactions began flooding in.

Captain Falcon burst into laughter and fell out of his seat.

Peach and Zelda gasped and clapped their hands over their mouths.

Mario muttered a "Mama mia!" and pulled his cap over his eyes.

Crazy Hand was writhing on the ground in a fit of laughter himself, before Master Hand stopped him with a slap to his back.

Donkey and Diddy Kong's eyes were practically launched from their sockets.

Pit's face was frozen in horror.

Dark Pit had his jaw hanging open with his hands dug into his hair.

Palutena seemed to be amused by the whole ordeal.

Mega Man witnessed all of this as he scanned the crowd. He could feel his face growing hot and tried to look away from the crowd, but once he did, he saw that his gloved hand still had a generous hold on Samus. With a yelp, he quickly released her and fell on his butt, scooting away from her as he did. The Blue Bomber's initial plan was to pivot grab her, crush her a few times with Super Arm and back throw her into the blast zone to secure his victory. He never expected this! He looked down at the ground between his legs and suddenly found himself interested in the designs carved into the stone. All of a sudden, a shadow loomed over him and Mega Man slowly looked up to see the face of an angry Samus Aran.

Mega Man nervously laughed as she stepped closer to him.

He had to say something, anything to defuse the situation!

"Um… now I've got your power?"

The bounty hunter said nothing as she put her foot behind her and charged a forward smash. He stood there like a deer in headlights as she kicked him in the face with the fiery heels of her jet boots, sending the poor boy into the blast zone. Rock locked himself in his room that afternoon and didn't come out until the next morning.

Rock learned the hard way that, as a Smasher, he needed to follow this one important rule: never piss off Samus Aran.


	2. Bento Brawl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's been a while since I posted the first chapter, but don't worry for I'm back with another! I was really glad to see that some of you guys actually enjoyed the first chapter and was even happy to know that you wanted to see more. Also, my friend recently introduced a new anime to me and it heavily inspired me to create this chapter so let's see if you can find out what it is.
> 
> Well dear readers, I'm here to deliver! Without further ado, let's go.

If there was anything Rock learned during his time in Super Smash Brothers, it was that, as a Smasher, he needed to exhibit one crucial trait – acceptance.

Every Smasher had their own story to tell with each varying from tales of bravery and honor to those of tragedy and despair. They also had some things they carried with them from the weapons they wielded in battle to the painful memories that kept them awake at night. But, most importantly, every fighter came from different worlds, each with different cultures and values. Master Hand had explicitly highlighted these differences between the Smashers before the beginning of the fourth tournament, encouraging them to get along and hopefully become allies along the way. As such, discrimination or hate of any sort wasn't tolerated at all. Anyone who violated said rules and disregarded any past warnings would be permanently banned from Super Smash Brothers.

Rock was happy to know that the Smash environment would be full of friendly competition and nothing more. The boy despised violence and only fought to save his world from any threat that came its way. Not only that, but Rock had enough of the negativity from his own world, ranging from Dr. Wily's constant plans of world domination to organizations who demanded that all Robot Masters should be abolished following the madman's actions. Rock's stay in Smash served as a breath of fresh air, giving him a break from his duties while at the same time keeping his mind sharp in combat. It would be a lie to say that Rock didn't worry about his family and the safety of everyone else back home but, after remembering Master Hand's assurance that he would notify the Blue Bomber if anything did go wrong, he would will himself to calm down and enjoy the peaceful time he had.

However, Rock learned that the rule of acceptance wasn't entirely about being friendly with wide open arms. At least, not to the Smashers themselves. Acceptance in Super Smash Brothers was tolerance more than anything, tolerance of the chaos that usually ensued in the Smash Mansion due to the antics of its residents. Rock learned the hard way again two months into his stay in Smash.

The Blue Bomber took a casual stroll down one of the halls of the Smash Mansion one evening, his gaze fixed on the windows to his right as he passed by them. Sunlight from the setting sun poured through the large windows and spilled out into the hall, creating orange shapes of light along the carpet and wooden floor. Along the way, Mega Man saw a doorway to his left and peered inside to see one of the many break rooms scattered throughout the large mansion complete with a couple of sofas, a small kitchen area, and a flat-screen television on the wall above a fireplace. Mega Man compared the Smash Mansion to the college campuses he would see back home whenever he went with Dr. Light to one of his many presentations about his research. It made him wonder though: did some of the more… 'archaic' Smashers experience culture shock when they laid eyes on technology like the television? That would probably be something he would look into later.

Mega Man came to an intersection at the end of the hall where there were three other paths waiting for him. Comically, the Smash Mansion was so large that there were posts with map guides on them to help Smashers find their way and he found himself looking at one nearby. He saw a red circle on the map of the section he was in with the words "You are here" printed in red text above. From there, he looked at some of the other locations near his own. Down the left path, there was the gym while down the right path was one of the courtyards. However, down the path straight ahead, was a route to the mess hall. Rock didn't need nourishment as he was a robot and was fueled by solar energy, but that didn't mean he didn't enjoy eating food. In his case, the ability to enjoy food was a luxury that Dr. Light granted him and the other Robot Masters as a way of being more human. Mega Man didn't have to worry about matters like fat or calories either so he could essentially eat as much as he liked without worry. With that in mind, he wondered what kind of food Smash had to offer considering the diverse fighters that were housed here. The boy was surprised he didn't find out about the mess hall sooner but, then again, after his encounter with a certain bounty hunter a while ago, he kept a low profile and mostly went out to take part in any matches requested of him.

However, happy that he found something to do that day, he jogged to the mess hall with a smile on face. It took a few minutes, but Mega Man had finally made it to the mess hall and the image of a university came into his head once again as he took in the area. It was a modern-looking mess hall as far as he could tell with dozens of tables on one side of the room with Smashers old and new in their seats. What the Blue Bomber really came for was on the other side of the room though – food. He could see a dozen tables all lined with dishes he had never seen before in a buffet type of style. Perhaps the cuisine in Smash was a mix of the many worlds its fighters hailed from. As he came closer, he could see freezers and vending machines with beverages and even treats like ice cream. He walked along the long tables of food and eventually stopped when something caught his eye. On a shelf along the wall, he could see box-like packages sitting there with an assortment of food neatly placed inside beneath a plastic covering. Realization struck the boy as he finally realized what they were.

Bento boxes!

The Blue Bomber remembered seeing them once when he went with Dr. Light on a trip to Japan for urgent business. He was intrigued when he first laid eyes on them and wondered how could a small box serve as an entire meal. Apparently, bento boxes were very popular in Japan, especially among students since they all seemed to eat them during lunch. He didn't get a chance to try one of them out though, since he and Dr. Light had to quickly depart for Russia to meet up with Dr. Cossack, an old ally. But now, it looks like another opportunity presented itself and Mega Man was happy to take it. Upon closer inspection, they were all discounted as well to half of their original price. Trying something new while at the same time saving his Smash coins? He was definitely getting one now.

"Now's my chance to see what these bento boxes are all about," Mega Man said to himself as he made his way over to the shelf with only three bento boxes.

Huh, they must have been popular here too.

The poor boy failed to notice though that there were several other Smashers nearby, who all had the same idea. When Mega Man had gotten to the shelf and was about to take a bento box, a sudden movement from his peripheral caught his attention and he turned around just in time to block a high kick aiming for his head. Startled, he jumped back and saw that it was Sheik who had attacked him. He had never met Sheik before, but knew she was a veteran in Smash and was among one of the best Smashers on the roster. Also, Mega Man wanted to emphasize the "she" part, for he had already deduced Sheik was a human female after seeing her a couple of times in battle. He identified some small traits that were rather feminine despite the concealing attire she wore and was surprised that no one else seemed to pick up on them. Well, those were some of the perks of having a supercomputer brain and a history with mysterious people, he thought. She seemed familiar too as if he had seen her before, but he couldn't put his finger on it just yet.

"Impressive, Mega Man. You're faster than I initially thought." Sheik said before she dropped her leg back down to the ground and got into a fighting stance. "But, if you think you're just going to casually take my meal, then you're sorely mistaken."

Mega Man blinked. "W-what are you talking about?"

"If you want that bento, then you're going to have to rightfully earn it through battle!"

Mega Man was confused. It seemed like she was upset because he tried grabbing a bento that she wanted. Wanting to avoid a confrontation and potentially another embarrassing moment, he held his hands up defensively and tried making peace.

"Battle? Sheik if you'd like I can just take another kind of bento and you can have that one."

Sheik rose an eyebrow. "You don't get it do you? Bento is a sacred meal and is rarely in stock, especially at a discount. So, if you want to eat like a king tonight, the only way you can possibly enjoy one is through victory!"

Mega Man gulped and took a step back, his hands still up in front of him. The Blue Bomber didn't want to get into any fight at all and only wished to try out something new. During his visit to Japan with Dr. Light, he never saw people fight over bento. Was bento really _that_ good?

Before Mega Man could respond and attempt to calm things down, he heard battle cries from his right and his eyes widened when he saw several other Smashers charging towards the bento shelf… which was also their current position. Just then, Sheik launched herself at him and began to attack.

The war had begun.

Link ran forward and fired his clawshot in an attempt to grab a bento box from afar, but Shulk ran in front of it and sliced the chain into bits with his Monado. Link narrowed his eyes before running straight ahead, his Master Sword poised to attack. Shulk smirked before he ran forward himself. The two swordsmen met halfway and clashed their respective weapons in rapid strikes before Shulk jumped over Link and, with his back to the hero of Hyrule, flew backward with a "Back Slash!" as his Monado fully extended outward to a blue energy beam. Link quickly spun around and blocked the attack with his Hylian Shield. The two locked eyes and broke from the clash, continuing their duel.

Meanwhile, Wii Fit Trainer was running towards the bento shelf herself only for the Villager to step right in front of her.

"Out of the way, kid! I had a grueling workout session earlier and now I'm starving!" she said as she got into a fighting stance.

Villager said nothing and, with a creepy smile, brought out his axe which shined in the light. Then he charged at her like a madman while Wii Fit Trainer set up a volleyball and spiked it towards her incoming foe. However, Villager put his axe away and pocketed the volleyball, brought it back out, and served the ball back at her in an attempt to hit her. But, Wii Fit Trainer bumped and set the ball to herself before she spiked it back even harder and hit the boy square in the face, knocking him to the ground in a daze.

"You think you can beat me in volleyball!? I'm a pro you know!"

Meanwhile, Mega Man landed on his butt with a thud as Sheik delivered a fierce kick to his side. He looked up and saw Sheik approaching him, her fists clenched and eyes on fire with determination.

"What's wrong, Mega Man? I heard you were a great warrior yet you haven't made any moves." Sheik said as she stopped and put her hands on her hips. "Don't you want your bento?"

"Sheik, I don't understand! We're not enemies and… why do we have to fight over food!?"

"And I don't understand how you fail to realize the importance of bento!" Sheik angrily replied. "It is one of the finest meals there is, but if you don't want to fight then I'll just have to put you down, dog!"

Mega Man didn't like this at all. All he wanted to do was try out bento for the first time and now he was being attacked? The most logical thing to do was to back away and just get something else to eat, but he was already fired up and actually a little annoyed. Adrenaline was kicking in and the determination he was known for in combat began to surface. He didn't want to get into another embarrassing moment by losing to Sheik in the most pathetic way possible, especially when the other Smashers at the tables were looking on at the scene. But, more than anything, he felt his desire to eat his meal. Mega Man finally stood up, his blue eyes narrowed and his teeth grit in anger.

"Very well, Sheik. I didn't want to fight you, but I _will_ defend myself! Victory or defeat!"

Knowing his Special Weapons were too dangerous to use in the area, Mega Man assumed a fighting stance and waited for his opponent's next move.

Sheik rose an eyebrow before quickly crossing her arms over her chest. Several needles appeared between her fingers, their sharpened points gleaming in the light. Mega Man couldn't tell because of the mask, but he could swear he saw the outline of a smirk on her lips.

Without hesitation, she threw the needles at breakneck speed which closed in on the Blue Bomber fast. However, he slid underneath the barrage and dashed towards Sheik who brought out more needles and threw them yet again. Mega Man transformed one his forearms into the Mega Buster and knocked the projectiles out of the air with its barrel before catching the final one between his fingertips. Shock momentarily crossed her face before she charged at him herself with a battle cry. Both of them finally met each other and clashed with Mega Man's fist and Sheik's leg respectively.

Sheik then dropped to the ground on her back and used both of her legs to perform a spinning attack with her legs as she twirled around like a helicopter propeller. Mega Man was caught off guard and was hit with several kicks before she grabbed his waist from the ground and pulled herself over him. Using the momentum, she threw him over herself and slammed the Blue Bomber onto his back who cried out in pain. Mega Man attempted to twirl around on the ground to kick her legs out under her, but Sheik saw this and jumped. However, he expected this and quickly got up from the ground and performed a Mega Upper. The rising uppercut met her in the air where she was hit right in the jaw and sent flying some distance away from him. Sheik landed on the tiled floor and slowly got up, still recovering from the fierce blow she took.

Growling, she faced Mega Man and began shivering in rage.

"How dare you!? You'll never get in the way of me and my bento! Never!"

She charged at him again with blazing fury as Mega Man stood his ground and waited. He didn't want this to escalate any further and had an idea on how to put her down quietly for the time being. Slowly, he put his arm behind his back and formed the Mega Buster again, this time with Spark Shock ready. Once she got close enough, he fired a small orb of electricity from his Mega Buster which struck Sheik at point blank. With a final painful cry, she fell down to the ground with small surges of electricity coursing through her body. The boy sighed in relief as the fight was finally over. He wondered just what had gotten into Sheik since he heard that she was a calm fighter, but he could only guess that bento was the cause of her mad behavior. It was a good thing the Smash Mechanics were still active, otherwise one of them could've been seriously injured. Mega Man looked down at Sheik who laid paralyzed on the ground and instantly felt regret, feeling he should have made another attempt at peace instead.

Mega Man turned around and saw that the other Smashers were finished with their fights as well. Link walked past a knocked out Shulk and grabbed a bento box, leaving the scene without another word. Wii Fit Trainer dusted off her hands after she shoved Villager's head inside the side of a tree he planted. She wiped the sweat off of her brow with her arm and picked up a bento box for herself while also getting a water bottle from a nearby vending machine as she walked away.

Mega Man checked on each of the knocked out Smashers and made sure they were all right before going to the shelf himself and taking the last bento box. He looked at the box in his hands and sighed. So this was it? This is what everyone was fighting over? Well, he had it now so he might as well enjoy it. He didn't think his evening would turn out like this, but he now 'accepted' the weird antics of his fellow Smashers and knew that whatever else came his way, he would take it on with everything he had.

Mega Man turned away from the shelf and made his way to a table. The Smashers who didn't partake in the fighting stared at the poor boy's slouched form as he finally sat down and opened the bento box. Without warning, he face-planted into his meal with a splat and began chewing at a slow pace, too tired to even use the chopsticks packed inside.

Sheik may have been crazy that day, but Mega Man had to agree with her on one thing – bento _did_ taste really good when it was rightfully earned.


	3. Path of a Warrior

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. It's been a while hasn't it? My apologies, I've been busy with a lot of life things. Not the bad kind though, just monotonous tasks and responsibilities. Don't worry, this story isn't dead. On top of that, I had slight difficulty writing this chapter, but I hope you guys find it enjoyable. Anyway, let's get started.

When Rock first joined Super Smash Brothers, he was absolutely ecstatic.

It was a brand new experience for the Blue Bomber and he hoped he could use this opportunity to enjoy life that wasn't on the battlefield. There was fighting involved of course, but it was all in the name of sportsmanship and camaraderie. He was also curious about the Smashers themselves, wondering what they were all like and what made them join. Rock was eager to put his social skills to the test among the other human qualities Dr. Light had gifted him with after all these years. Thanks to Wily's ambitions, he never had many chances to socialize with other people or exercise his capabilities as he was too busy saving the world instead. But now, times were different.

There wasn't a madman on the loose who tried to take over the world every other month.

There were no innocent people in danger and in constant fear of annihilation.

There were no robots going haywire and wreaking havoc among the populace.

There was only the peaceful flow of time along with the many day-to-day activities that an ordinary life entailed.

A life that was originally intended for him.

However, while he quite enjoyed the peace and competition in Smash, Rock was lonely. It's been a couple of months after he first joined Smash yet he didn't truly have someone he could call a friend yet. Of course, there were Smashers who knew him and showed him respect and kindness, but they were acquaintances at best. He wanted more than just mere acquaintanceship, but there was a lot holding him back. Despite his popularity, Rock was a newcomer to Smash and he still felt like a stranger. Also, his anxiety just made matters even worse as he couldn't muster up the courage to try and improve the potential relationships he already had. Lastly, his previous incidents so far have been the talk of the Smash Mansion and he couldn't help but feel embarrassed and even more disheartened in his efforts.

With these thoughts running through his head, Rock was currently taking a stroll through the Smash Mansion's botanical gardens. His blue ceratanium armor shined brightly in the sunlight and his iconic blue helmet was nowhere to be seen, allowing his spiky hair to be free. As he continued to walk, he couldn't help but admire the beautiful scenery around him. To his left was a seating area complete with several wooden benches surrounding a marble fountain. Water erupted from a marble-sculpted Smash Ball that stood atop a pillar in the fountain's center. To his right was a large pond with clear waters. Lily pads dotted the water's surface like stars in the night sky and koi fish of varying colors and sizes elegantly navigated their way through the vegetation and rocks below. The grass was a vibrant green and exotic flowers and other plant life lined the stone paths. This truly was the ideal place to get lost in thought and wonder.

Back home, Rock would usually take long walks like this to reflect on a recent journey he came back from or just to think about things like he was now. He usually went alone on these walks with Roll occasionally accompanying him. However, after a couple of incidents where his enemies attacked him and at one point endangered Roll, Rock made the decision to continue his walks alone. While he was safe in Smash, he still decided to go alone, leaving Rush and Beat back in his room at the mansion to enjoy his alone time and to make sure they didn't cause any trouble. They may have been robots, but they were still programmed like animals and were often a little too curious about their surroundings. Rock remembered this one time when Rush got friendly with a normal dog one day and playfully chased it around when they were taking a walk in the city. The car crashes and property damage that followed shortly after caused many complaints about the robotic canine and Dr. Light paying the victims for their troubles upfront right from his wallet. At least anyone didn't get hurt.

Rock crossed the bridge and continued walking at a leisurely pace. He was walking into a more forested area that was away from the open and blocked the sunlight that illuminated his armor. _How big is this place?_ Rock thought to himself while taking a look around at the change of scenery. He had been walking for an hour now and all of it was spent in the green of the garden. Not that he was complaining though, he knew there were other areas to explore. Smash was more than just a simple tournament and a mansion, it was a different world entirely built by a god who had a passion to create. With that said, it made Rock happy knowing that there were individuals out there who used their power for productivity and good as opposed to destruction.

The Blue Bomber came to a large clearing now which was plain of anything with the exception of the grass. As he was looking around, he spotted someone on the other side of the clearing.

He was a tall, burly man who wore what looked to be white karate gi that had both of its sleeves torn off. The man was on his knees, his bare feet tucked underneath him while his gloved hands rested on his lap. Rock noticed a red headband that wrapped around his head which stood out from his messy black hair. His eyes were shut and it looked like he was in pure concentration as his headband flowed freely in the breeze that came by.

Rock froze and stared at him. _Who is that? A new Smasher?_

The guess certainly wasn't far fetched as new fighters were announced to be joining Smash soon. But, he never thought they would arrive _this_ soon and so discreetly at that. Rock continued to stare as the man sat still like a statue, completely cut off from the world. The boy wondered what he was doing there and why he was out here resting in such a secluded area. However, after looking over his appearance, it was obvious that the man was a martial artist. Rock himself didn't know what being a martial artist entailed, but he had a vague idea after seeing Smashers like Lucario. Speaking of Lucario, didn't he often sit down and meditate to concentrate on his aura? Maybe that was what the man was doing now, but whether he also had aura or any special abilities was unknown. He wouldn't be surprised at all if he did anyway considering he was in a tournament filled with diverse fighters from across the multiverse.

As Rock thought about it even more, an idea suddenly dawned on him. If this fighter was new to Smash, maybe Rock could introduce himself and show him around. It wouldn't hurt to do so since he probably didn't really know anyone just like Rock did when he first arrived and it would give him something to do for the day.

How would he approach this mysterious fighter though?

Should he approach him at all since he was focused at the moment?

Would he be nice?

Rock shook his head in a vain attempt to knock those running questions off.

He was getting anxious again.

The boy grew irritated as he remembered his current situation and concluded that he wasn't going to allow his doubt and traitorous thoughts to hold him down any longer.

Did he hesitate when he decided to become Mega Man? Did he hesitate to save the world whenever it was on the verge of destruction, knowing that he could possibly die? No, he always faced these risks head on and struck down any challenge in his way. The Blue Bomber wasn't going to hesitate this time and instead was going to conquer his greatest challenge yet: talking to people. Steeling his resolve, Rock's helmet materialized on his head with a flash of blue light as he approached the new fighter.

Meanwhile, Ryu scrunched up his face in concentration as he tried to fend off the negative thoughts running rampant in his mind.

_Give in…_

_Must destroy everything…_

The martial artist's fists clenched, his breathing becoming ragged.

_Your path lies in death and destruction…_

He grit his teeth in frustration and sweat formed on his brow.

_That is the true calling of a warrior…_

A faint, dark red aura began to emanate from him.

He felt like he was going to lose control.

Ryu had been fighting the Satsui no Hado for a while now. It has always called out to him and he has struggled to ward it off almost every time. The street fighter's life revolved around fighting. Ever since he was a child, he constantly honed his skills and sparred with his best friend Ken and his master to get better and better each day. As an adult, he aimlessly traveled the world and took on dozens of unique fighters, participating in several tournaments to become the very best and master his craft. However, the Satsui no Hado was always a thorn at his side. The art of battle had been tainted by its influence and Ryu was disgusted by its raw evil. He usually had the help of his allies to free him from the Hado's grasp, but this time he was alone in a tournament far away from home.

_You must give in…_

_The power of destruction, that is the only destiny of your fist!_

No… NO!

Ryu tried repelling it as best as he could. If he lost control here, who knows who he will hurt in the process? He couldn't allow that to happen, especially when-

"Um… hello."

Ryu's eyes shot open in surprise and he looked up to see a boy. Not just any boy though. He wore blue, metallic armor with a helmet of the same features. He had a friendly smile on his face yet he seemed to look nervous about something. Regardless, now snapped out of the Hado's influence for the time being, Ryu composed himself in order to respond to the boy before him.

"H-hello. Can I help you with something?"

Mega Man rubbed the side of his arm sheepishly.

"Uh… n-no. It's just that I don't think I've ever seen you around here before and was wondering if you are a new fighter to Smash."

When Ryu first joined Smash, it was after the first major tournament and as such he spent most of his time in seclusion on the Smash Mansions grounds to train and prepare for the upcoming second tournament. The martial artist even took the liberty of reviewing footage from the first tournament in order to gauge what the combat was like in Smash since he was informed that fighting here was vastly different from what it was back home. He hadn't really made contact with any of the Smashers and kept to himself since. Ryu understood why this fighter was curious about him and likewise Ryu was curious about the boy himself. He looked familiar though…

Ryu nodded. "Yes. I just arrived here not too long ago."

"O-oh well, it's nice to meet you. I'm Mega Man, I've been here for a couple of months now," Mega Man said, extending his hand.

"My name is Ryu."

Ryu took the Blue Bomber's gloved hand and gave it a firm shake. Mega Man was glad things were going smoothly. Confidence began flooding its way into his mind and his small smile grew a bit. Things were starting to look up… until Ryu spoke again.

"You said you're Mega Man, right? I think I've seen you somewhere before."

Oh.

"You've seen me before?"

"Yes. You participated in the first Smash Brothers tournament, right?"

Uh oh.

"Y-yeah I did. I was one of the newcomers who participated."

Now, Ryu started to remember where he's seen this fighter from and why he looked so familiar. Meanwhile, Mega Man was starting to worry. Did he know about what happened during the finals? Did he know how he lost that day? The poor boy was starting to get nervous. Mega Man was hoping that by meeting a new fighter, he wouldn't worry about them knowing of his most embarrassing moment from his debut in Smash. He shifted nervously on his feet as Ryu continued.

"I watched some of your matches and I must say..."

No, no, no, no…

"…I was impressed by your skill."

What?

Mega Man looked up at Ryu and saw that he seemed to be regarding him with respect. Not just any respect though, it was the type of respect that someone would give to another who they deemed as formidable or an equal. It was nice feeling.

"Really?"

"Yes. It was interesting to see how you used each of your abilities to compliment each other and pave the way for your victory, especially in your match against Marth."

While Mega Man appreciated the praise from this new fighter, he was confused. Didn't Ryu know what happened?

"Oh, thank you," Mega Man said. "But… haven't you seen the final match?"

"No. I couldn't find it on record."

Thank goodness. They had the decency to not save the match.

"Why do you ask?" Ryu asked, intrigued.

Mega Man immediately began blurting out words, trying to come up with an excuse.

"I-It's nothing! It's just that I'm still a little upset because I was there and I lost! That's all!"

Ryu hummed in understanding.

"I see. But, you shouldn't let the sting of defeat keep you down. It should aspire you to train harder for the next battle."

 _If only you knew…_ Mega Man thought to himself. Regardless, the Blue Bomber responded to the martial artist's words with a nod and responded.

"Yeah, you're right. I just think about it sometimes."

They both stood there for a moment in an awkward silence until Mega Man remembered what he was there for.

"Oh! Ryu, you said you just arrived here right? If you'd like, I can show you around the mansion," the boy offered with a hopeful tone.

"That sounds nice, but I'm afraid I have to decline. I must train for the rest of the day and the next couple of weeks to prepare for the second upcoming tournament."

Mega Man deflated a little bit. "Oh, I see..."

While he was a little hurt that Ryu didn't accept his offer, he understood why. When he first joined, Mega Man trained hard to ensure that he would do well in the first tournament. He spent the majority of his time in training simulations against groups of Mii Fighters, learning the Smash Mechanics first hand as he did. His hard work did pay off, but of course fate had another plan that day. Regardless, it made sense why Ryu wanted to train and Mega Man had the impression he was the type of person to take his training seriously. Just then, an idea clicked in the Blue Bomber's head and he hoped it worked.

"But, if you want to train, then why do it alone? I've spent a lot of time practicing with the mechanics of Smash and I can help you work on them."

This piqued Ryu's interest as he took a moment to think about it. Ryu definitely wanted to understand this new system of combat in Smash and hone his skills by participating in the upcoming tournament. He knew that in order to fully understand this new combat, he needed to experience it firsthand by sparring with another fighter. It's the same way it's always been back at home. Whenever he needed to train or understand his own power, he would contact Ken or some of his other allies to see if they were up to fight. So why not take up the request of this experienced fighter who can teach him everything he needs to know?

Finally, Ryu gave a nod. "Very well. I'll train with you from now on."

Mega Man couldn't help but smile.

"That's great! I'll teach you everything I know!"

Ryu gave a small smile in return, sharing the boy's enthusiasm.

"All right, then! Let's-" Mega Man was interrupted when he heard a stomach growl.

Ryu's eyes widened slightly in surprised when he heard it. Instinctively, his hands went to his stomach as if attempting to hide his shame. Mega Man guessed that was Ryu's way of showing embarrassment or maybe that was the closest thing to embarrassment a serious man like him could possibly express. Either way, it was amusing to see him in such a state as a new idea sprouted in the boy's head.

"Sounds like you're hungry," Mega Man said. "Want to head back to the mansion and grab dinner? It's getting late now."

Ryu looked up past the trees and saw that the Blue Bomber was right. It was evening now. The sky was brilliant shades of orange and pink with a blanket of altocumulus clouds slowly making their way across its vast expanse. He had been training and meditating out in the gardens for quite some time now. It was time he head back to the mansion and rest after such a grueling day. Also, there was food. If there was one thing the street fighter couldn't turn down, it was a hearty meal.

"Sure," Ryu replied.

The two Smashers set a course to the Smash Mansion and left the forest clearing with Mega Man walking with an extra spring in his step along the way.

* * *

Mega Man and Ryu sat at a table next to the large windows in the mess hall, finishing up their respective meals. Mega Man was curious to try out something new again and as such had some fruit called oran berries. The boy wasn't completely sure, but he had a feeling that these were only for Pokémon to eat seeing as how Pikachu had eagerly shoved them into his arms while he was browsing through the dishes. Mega Man didn't understand what the electric Pokémon was saying as he spoke in his language, but he could only guess he was telling him to have some. Regardless, he was glad Pikachu had him try them out since they _did_ taste really good. It certainly was better than fighting to the death over a bento box. Meanwhile, Ryu had several empty plates beside him on the table with another being added to the stack as he just finished his last meal.

Mega Man was happy with the progress that he made so far with Ryu and his usual confidence was back stronger than ever.

"I guess you were really hungry," Mega Man noted, still surprised that a human could eat that much.

Ryu nodded. "I've been out training since early this morning without rest."

He was right, Ryu _was_ serious about his training. But why?

"You said you were going train for the next couple of weeks for the second tournament right? I understand if that's the case, but that's a bit extreme, don't you think?" Mega Man asked with concern.

"It's a part of my regular training," Ryu replied simply.

"You mean that's what you normally do? Even back where you come from?

"Yes."

Now the Blue Bomber was intrigued. Why was Ryu so engrossed in his training? What was he training for? What was his story?

"Why do you train so much? Are you a martial arts master perfecting your craft?"

"I'm far from a master. But yes, I seek to master my martial art and understand the power that I have," the street fighter explained, looking at his clenched fist resting on the table. The orange light from the retreating sun lit up his fist in a fiery glow and Mega Man could see how worn Ryu's red glove was from the many battles it was in.

"It sounds like fighting is all you know." Mega Man said as he bit into one of his oran berries.

"It is. Ever since I was a child, all I do is fight."

"You mean you've been fighting all your life?"

Ryu nodded.

"Do you mean fighting as in competition or… killing?"

"No," Ryu quickly responded, clearly affected by the mention of death. "I mean in terms of friendly competition and enlightenment, though there were times where I fought for the greater good. I believe the fight to be a form of communication. It can lead to understanding and holds a meaning deeper than mere words. The fight can give you the answers you are looking for."

Mega Man took in the martial artists words. The way Ryu described combat was surreal. With what he went through over the years, the Blue Bomber never imagined combat to be in such a positive and spiritual light. But then again, the combat he ever knew was in terms of life and death during times of crisis. He may have adapted to nature of Smash now, but even then he still had trouble comprehending Ryu's words.

"What about you, Mega Man?"

"Huh?"

Mega Man looked up to see Ryu looking at him with a hint of curiosity in his eyes.

"Why do you fight? From your matches, I can tell you're a skilled fighter, but I've never seen someone as young yet experienced as you are."

Mega Man turned to the window. The sun was still setting, slowly disappearing beneath the horizon with the surrounding sky painted with orange, purple and pink.

"I don't fight because I want to. I choose to fight because I want to protect my loved ones and maintain the peaceful coexistence between humans and robots. As such, I've fought off anything that threatened those things ever since my creation."

"Your creation?"

Mega Man nodded. "Yeah. It might not look like it, but I'm actually a robot."

Ryu blinked and inspected the boy closely. His skin, his eyes, his mannerisms, pretty much everything about Mega Man was extremely realistic and human-like despite the armor he wore. He would have never suspected him to be a machine.

"I was initially created to help out my creator with his lab work and be sort of a surrogate son. That changed when an old colleague of his went rogue and decided to take over the world by using my creator's other robots. I volunteered to be remodeled into a combat robot, went to stop that madman's plans and the rest is history," Mega Man finished with a sigh.

Now it was Ryu's turn to take in the Blue Bomber's words. He was stunned to say the least. A child forcing himself into warfare in an attempt to save the world? It was selfless and brave yet it was equally concerning knowing that Mega Man had been doing this for quite some time. Even if he was a robot, Ryu knew that such a life wasn't beneficial to anyone.

"I see," Ryu said as he looked to the side out of the window.

The two Smashers stared out the window and watched as the sun was finally disappearing out of existence.

A moment later, the two walked to the exit of the mess hall and stopped to part ways.

"It was nice meeting you, Ryu. I had a great time," Mega Man said.

"So did I," Ryu replied.

"So, want to meet up at same place we met earlier and begin training tomorrow?"

Ryu nodded. "I'll already be there waiting for you."

Mega Man smiled. "Well then, goodnight Ryu. See you!"

And with that the two went off to their respective rooms for the night.

* * *

The following day, Ryu was back at the forest clearing in the same position Mega Man had found him in before. Ryu was peacefully meditating and awaiting for the Blue Bomber's return as their training session time was approaching. While he was glad to have found another fighter who could help him out with his training, the street fighter was also worried. What if the Satsui no Hado resurfaced again? He had almost succumbed to it yesterday and if it wasn't for Mega Man, who knows what could have happened? Needless to say, Ryu was grateful for the boy's appearance that day. He also couldn't help but think about Mega Man's story. The street fighter had met many people throughout his travels and learned of their reasons for fighting, but the boy's tale took the cake. Despite his history though, Mega Man still appeared to be a respectful and kind teenage boy which was surprising and made it seem like he never experienced combat before. Meanwhile, Ryu struggled to move on from the Hado's grasp as it threatened to overtake him every other day.

Ryu's thoughts were interrupted when he heard footsteps approaching him. He looked up to see Mega Man as he stopped a few feet away.

"Hey Ryu, I hope I didn't take too long," the Blue Bomber greeted with a smile.

"It's fine. I was just meditating," Ryu said simply as he stood up.

"Well, want to start training?"

"I'm ready whenever you are."

"Okay! So, which mechanic do you want to go over? I know a good stage where we can practice."

"Actually Mega Man, I have another idea in mind."

Mega Man rose an eyebrow. "Oh? What's that?"

"In order to fully understand this new combat, I must experience it through battle."

Mega Man was taken aback. "You mean right here? Right now?"

Ryu nodded.

"Are you sure Ryu? I thought we would go on a stage to formally do this."

While it was true that the Smash Mechanics were still active even outside of the confines of the stages, knock back, shielding and double jumping weren't for practical reasons. It was because of this that Mega Man was unsure of Ryu's proposal as he wouldn't get the full experience of battling on stage.

"Yes, it's the way I do things back home. I know we aren't fighting on a stage, but before we truly get into our training, I want to spar with you first to understand you as a fighter. Don't be afraid to go all out," Ryu said while taking a couple of steps back. Once he made it a fair distance away from the Blue Bomber, he started to assumed a fighting stance.

"It's as I've told you yesterday. The answer lies"-his foot slammed to the ground with his fists raised and clenched at the ready-"in the heart of battle."

This wasn't what Mega Man expected, but he supposed it made sense. Partners are supposed to understand one another and train in sync or something, right? The Blue Bomber was unsure and still tried to wrap his head around Ryu's philosophy of fighting since last night. But despite his best efforts, he just couldn't comprehend what he meant. How does fighting give you the answers you need? What does it actually show you? How is it beneficial to anyone? Mega Man surmised that was why he was here right now. Perhaps Ryu will show him what it means through this sparring session. With that, the Mega Buster formed on Mega Man's arm and he aimed it at his opponent. His eyes narrowed and gaze was full of determination.

"All right, let's go!"

Mega Man started first by firing several shots from the Mega Buster. Ryu weaved around the first couple of solar energy bullets before he jumped over the rest. He raised his fist and was closing in the Blue Bomber with the intent of slamming him to the ground. Mega Man saw this and jumped back from his current position, resulting in Ryu missing his target and leaving some cracks in the ground. Mega Man continued to assault the street fighter with more Mega Buster shots, but Ryu still dodged them all and closed in on him once again. When Ryu was close enough, Mega Man activated Leaf Shield. The sharp, metallic leaves circled around him, stunning and damaging Ryu in the process. Ryu grit his teeth from the pain and was sent in the air once the Leaf Shield was thrown forward. Mega Man materialized a Metal Blade and threw it diagonally upward, striking Ryu multiple times before he finished off by sending him away with a Flame Sword.

Ryu landed on the ground hard, but quickly got back to his feet for the next. He needed to approach Mega Man another way. Mega Man threw another Metal Blade and was surprised when Ryu caught it with one hand.

"Hadouken!" Ryu shouted as he pressed his wrists together and spread out his hands to unleash a blue energy shot.

Mega Man was taken aback by this. So he did have supernatural abilities!

The Blue Bomber fired at the projectile with a few Mega Buster shots, causing it to finally dissipate in the air. He looked around afterward yet he couldn't find Ryu anywhere. It was until he heard a battle cry from above him that Mega Man knew where he was. Before he could react however, he was struck with his own Metal Blade from above, stunning him and knocking him back a couple of feet. Ryu followed up by slamming his heel on the his head in the air and, once he landed on the ground, slid his leg across the ground to sweep Mega Man off his feet and slam him to the ground. Mega Man rolled back and tried getting up again while thinking of a new strategy.

"Tatsumaki!"

Mega Man looked up and saw Ryu whirling around like a helicopter in the air with his leg outstretched. The martial artist's foot smashed to the side of Mega Man's head sending him flying off to the side. Ryu charged at the Blue Bomber who got up from the ground and smirked. Ryu was confused. Why was he standing there? Meanwhile, Ryu failed to realize the Crash Bomb sticking onto his leg which was fired before Mega Man was hit previously. The explosive blew up and sent Ryu in the air again with Mega Man in hot pursuit below. The Blue Bomber jumped up into the air and unleashed a Slash Claw, slicing his opponent and sending him to the ground. Ryu landed on the ground hard and rolled backwards in an attempt to gain some distance away from his opponent, but Mega Man caught him with Top Spin and finished with the Mega Upper once he was done spinning, sending Ryu into the depths of the forest. Ryu's eyes widened in surprise as he was flying through the air. _T_ _he_ _shoryuken?_ He didn't have time to think about it though and landed in some shrubbery.

As Ryu got up to confront his opponent again, he stopped and felt a surge of new emotions overtake him. He felt the powerful desire to win take root in his mind, coursing throughout his body in waves of energy. Hatred and red rage started to cloud his senses and Ryu rubbed his temples and shook his head in an attempt to make them stop. He looked down at his clenched fist and was horrified to see a red aura surrounding it. _No… it can't be!_ But it was.

The Satsui No Hado was taking over again.

And Ryu couldn't stop it this time.

Just then, Mega Man appeared from the depths of the wilderness and aimed his Mega Buster forward. He lowered his weapon however, when he saw what was happening to Ryu. The martial artist's eyes were red, his fists were clenched and shaking with rage and a red aura surrounded his entire body. The sight made the Blue Bomber shudder.

"Ryu?"

Before he could react, the man charged at him at blinding speeds and assaulted Mega Man with a flurry of punches and kicks. The boy blocked the onslaught of attacks with his armored arms and jumped back. He didn't know what was happening to Ryu, but he knew that he had no choice but to defend himself. The two warriors continued their fight for several minutes with Mega Man mostly evading his opponents attacks and trying to subdue him with his weapons while Ryu would get enraged and shrug off the attacks, not at all bothered by the pain. The street fighter's blows were harder, faster and thrown with more ferocity as if he had the intent of killing the opponent in front of him. Mega Man knew this was bad and desperately tried thinking of a plan to incapacitate him before whatever was going with him became worse.

" **Shakunetsu!** " Ryu yelled with a demonic tone.

Mega Man took the full force of the fiery projectile and was stunned, allowing Ryu to charge at him and perform his next attack.

" **SHORYUKEN!** "

The Blue Bomber felt excruciating agony as the street fighter's fist slammed into his chin, sending the poor boy flying deeper into the forest. A moment later, he was on the ground in a heap and barely conscious. Whatever that person or thing was wasn't Ryu. He hadn't known him for long, but the man he knew for a short time was silent yet respectful, humble and the only person he connected with so far. He was under the influence of something dark and it he needed to snap him out of it fast before he ran off and hurt anyone else. He heard a roar in the distance and knew Ryu was approaching. Mega Man got to his feet and quickly thought of a plan. _If he's_ _shrugging off my attacks one at a time, maybe I should bombard him with as much firepower as possible to overwhelm him,_ Mega Man surmised.

Ryu came bursting out of the brush and charged at the Blue Bomber, his glowing red eyes narrowed and his fists raised to strike. Mega Man fired a Crash Bomb and immediately activated Leaf Shield and threw it before he summoned a Metal Blade and threw that as well. Ryu made no move to dodge and the Crash Bomb stuck to his chest with the Leaf Shield closing in. He made an attempt to swat the shield out of the way, but the Crash Bomb blew up in his face and stunned him, causing the Leaf Shield and the Metal Blade to strike him at once. During this time, Mega Man was holding in a Charge Shot.

"I hope this works..."

He took aim and fired the massive blue shot forward. Ryu was on his knees and attempted to get up before he was struck with the full force of the blast, the explosion that followed knocking him unconscious. Mega Man sighed in relief and laid back against a tree trunk, his body sliding down to the ground along its length as he did so. It was an hour before Ryu groaned in pain and sat up from the ground and began looking around at his surroundings. He noticed Mega Man in the distance and saw how battered his armor and face was. Guilt seized Ryu's heart upon seeing this and sprinted to the boy's side.

"Mega Man!" the street fighter yelled as he knelt down next to the boy's beaten form.

Mega Man smiled in response. "I'm okay. Are you all right?"

Ryu blinked. He suffered the wrath of the Hado's power first hand and he was asking _him_ if he was all right?

"I should be asking you."

The boy shook his head. "I'm fine as long as you are. What happened anyway?"

Ryu sighed. "That was the Satsui no Hado. It's a… darker side to myself. I've hurt people under its influence and it threatens to consume me completely. I've been struggling to contain it ever since. Please Mega Man, forgive me."

Ryu looked away and hung his head in shame. Mega Man looked down at his arm and transformed it into the Mega Buster, his eyes running along the blue barrel.

"I understand."

Ryu looked over at him questioningly.

"A long time ago, I almost did the unthinkable. I was at my limit, I was tired and all I felt was hatred." Mega Man said as he raised his Mega Buster and aimed it at one of the tree trunks nearby. "I nearly pulled the trigger and killed out of those feelings. I was no better than the man I fought against."

Mega Man stared at the tree he was aiming at and swore that for a split second, Dr. Wily was there on the ground, his eyes wide and face pale with fear as he defensively held out a hand and told him not to fire. After Mega Man blinked though, the tree was there again with the mad scientist nowhere to be seen. A ghost of the past.

The Blue Bomber looked over at Ryu and saw the man looking back at him.

"I guess we both have a darker side we can't let go of," Mega Man said, giving Ryu a small smile.

Ryu said nothing. They both sat there for several moments to both rest from their battle and think about what happened earlier that day. Finally, Ryu stood up and turned to Mega Man.

"Mega Man."

The Blue Bomber looked up to see Ryu extending his hand out to him.

"We should rest properly back at the Smash Mansion," Ryu said. "And if you'd like, we can have dinner again later tonight."

Mega Man sat there for a second before he took his hand and Ryu helped the boy get to his feet.

"Yeah. I'd like that."

With that, the two Smashers made their way out of the forest and walked back to the Smash Mansion in comfortable silence. Since that evening, Mega Man and Ryu trained together every day in preparation for the second tournament and sometimes did things together around the Smash Mansion.

Mega Man finally had someone he could call a friend and he couldn't have been happier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies that this chapter is longer than usual, but I think it was completely necessary. I wanted to establish this relationship (which will be reoccurring by the way) and really build off of how well these two compliment each other. Even better, they're both iconic Capcom mascots. What's more to love? On that note, hopefully I got Ryu's characterization down pact or at least fine since I'm not too knowledgeable in Street Fighter, but you guys can let me know. See you guys in the next chapter (which will be soon hopefully).


	4. Smash Ball Run

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All right, here we are with another chapter. I felt like the previous two chapters have started off really slow and I rambled a bit (which is something I tend to do when writing) so I did something different this time around for Chapter 4. Hopefully, you guys like it. Let's get started!

Mega Man ran for his life into the depths of the cavern. Some distance behind him, several Bumpety Bombs were in pursuit with their fuses being eaten away by yellow sparks. He ran even faster upon seeing this and checked timer on the device strapped to his forearm to read the time.

Forty five seconds left.

The Blue Bomber knew he could have taken care of them, but he didn't want to waste time. He needed to get to that secret room fast before time ran out. If not, he probably wouldn't stand a chance in the final battle. He came out of the exit of the area he was just in and saw that he made it to the center of the map. It was an underground abyss filled with platforms, enemies and pathways that branched off to other parts of the island. Several colors of the rainbow bathed the area in a mystical glow. Mega Man's destination was beyond the bridge before him and he continued running at full speed. Just then, the Bumpety Bombs came rushing out of the exit and they all homed in on him as he bolted across the bridge. Several Koopa Paratroopas and Eggrobos also noticed him from the air and flew to the scene to pursue him as well.

"Almost there!" Mega Man said out loud, likely to reassure himself.

However, a towering figure landed on the other side of the bridge. It was huge and wore black armor with golden highlights. It's giant sword was raised in the air and it's shield was protectively held in front of it as it glared at the Blue Bomber beneath it's intimidating helmet. It was a Darknut.

Mega Man stopped and looked all around him.

Bumpety Bombs were quickly closing in, their fuses almost gone and bodies flashing red, threatening to explode.

Koopa Paratroopas were swooping down from the air.

Eggrobos took aim with their cannons and were about to fire.

The Darknut charged forward and lunged at Mega Man with it's sword.

How was he going to get out of this one?

It seems like it was too late though, as a large explosion ensued, making everything go white.

* * *

_Earlier that day…_

Mega Man was walking down the halls of the Smash Mansion with an Energy Tank in his hand. He raised the can to his lips and took a nice long sip, enjoying the feeling of the life energy within rejuvenating his systems. He let out a refreshed sigh once he was done and peacefully kept walking until he heard a boom from behind him. It sounded like the sound barrier being broken… wait the sound barrier-

Before he could react, a familiar blue hedgehog appeared before him.

"Hey Mega, good to see you again!"

It was none other than Sonic the Hedgehog himself.

"Oh, hey Sonic! It's been a while," Mega Man said.

When newcomers first arrive to Smash, some veterans are assigned to help them get familiar with the Smash Mansion and understand how tournaments work. Sonic just so happened to be his assigned tutor and the two easily got acquainted. Though Mega Man did have to say one thing about him – he was too fast. He wasn't referring to his running speed, but rather his whole personality. On his tour, Sonic quickly ran from place to place and explained everything in a rush, making it difficult for the Blue Bomber to keep up with him. When they finished their tour and got something to eat from the dining hall, Sonic wouldn't stop talking about chili dogs and how great they were, praising it as if it were a god in a religion. Mega Man had never met anyone in his life who loved chili dogs so much. Regardless, Sonic was a good guy and they could have potentially been great friends had he not been Master Hand's helper around the Smash Mansion due to his natural speed. As such, Mega Man hardly saw the blue blur around.

"How's life been in Smash so far? Pretty great right?" Sonic asked with a smile.

"Yeah, it's cool. Some... things happened but, other than that, I think I really like this place."

Sonic smirked. "Yeah, I've heard of some of those 'things' you know."

"I'm pretty sure everyone has by now," the boy said with a sigh as he took another long sip from his Energy Tank.

"Cheer up, Megs! We all have embarrassing moments from when we first started. We'll all laugh it off some time in the future, no big."

"Have _you_ ever accidentally grabbed Samus Aran's butt?" Mega Man asked with his free hand on his hip.

"Uh… no?" Sonic responded with a sheepish grin. "But I know a couple of guys who want to and believe me they're really jealous of you."

"Well, they've never been kicked in the face with rocket heels then."

"Something tells me they don't care either way."

Mega Man groaned and took another long sip of his Energy Tank before walking over to a nearby trash bin and throwing it away.

"Anyway, that's not why I was looking for you," Sonic said as Mega Man came back over to him. "I was wondering if you wanted to join me and a couple of others for something."

"What do you have in mind?"

"Smash Run!"

"Smash what?"

"Seriously? Did you pay attention at all when I gave you that tour a while back?" Sonic complained.

"It's not my fault the fastest thing alive was my tour guide," the Blue Bomber retorted.

The blue hedgehog raised his hands defensively. "All right, you got me there. I'll tell you how it works then. Smash Run is where four Smashers are each put on a big stage and they have to collect power ups by defeating a bunch of enemies from other universes or by finding them in treasure chests throughout the map. Those power ups boost our stats for the final match against each other."

"What's the final match?"

"It can range from a free-for-all battle to a race to see who can climb the highest. It's pretty random."

Mega Man stopped to make a decision. Now that he thought about it, he did kind of recall that Sonic mentioned this at one point a while back. He never tried it out himself though and for the life of him he never understood why. Well, aside from the fact that he laid low for some time after _those_ incidents, he never considered using the mode for training since he always used Multi-Man Smash instead. The idea of fighting hordes of enemies while competing against other Smashers in a randomized mini game in the end sounded like great practice and a lot of fun. Besides, it's not like he had anything to do either.

"All right, I'm in. When do we start?"

"Right now!"

Sonic grabbed Mega Man's arm and he sped them out of the hallway in the blink of an eye. The whole time Mega Man tried moving himself out of the way of other passerby Smashers as the blue blur dragged him along and recklessly dashed through the Smash Mansion at top speed. They suddenly came to a stop in a control room with four teleporters and a computer console where Ganondorf, Little Mac and Crazy Hand were waiting. Mega Man, slightly winded, regained his bearings and dusted himself off.

"You need to slow down, Sonic! You could've hurt someone!"

"Don't worry Megs, I know this place like the back of my hand. You worry too much," Sonic said as Crazy Hand came over to greet the two blue heroes.

"Ah, Sonic! I see you've found another victi- I mean participant for our fun little game. How do you do, Mega Man?" the deranged hand said with a bow.

"Um hello, Crazy Hand," Mega Man said, feeling a little uneasy being in his presence.

"Can we finally get this over with?" the Gerudo King said impatiently, standing up from his seat.

Crazy Hand shook with excitement. "Yes, yes! Everyone, get in the teleporters!"

Sonic gave Mega Man a pat on the shoulder. "Good luck, Megs! See you on the other side."

"Yeah, you too."

As Mega Man stepped in front of his teleporter he noticed Little Mac was nearby in front of his own teleporter. The boxer noticed him as well and greeted him with a smile.

"Hey, Mega Man. Remember me? We joined Smash around the same time."

"How could I forget? Nice to see you, Little Mac!"

"Uh, Mac is just fine," Little Mac said with a chuckle. "Hey, good luck out there. This is my first time doing this."

"Same here. Good luck, Mac."

With that, they both stepped into the teleporters while Sonic and Ganondorf had already been waiting inside their own.

"Looks like everyone's ready to go! Mmm yes I've been waiting for this moment," Crazy Hand said with a crazed laugh.

Mega Man and Little Mac gave each other a worried glance with the exception of Sonic and Ganondorf, the former not being bothered by the hand and the latter impatiently tapping his foot. If Sonic had told him Crazy Hand of all people was hosting this event, Mega Man would have reconsidered joining.

"Oh right, does everyone know how Smash Run works?" Before anyone could respond, Crazy waved himself off. "Bah whatever, let's go!"

The hand pressed a red button on the console, teleporting the Smashers onto the stage and starting the game. As he teleported, Mega Man closed his eyes as a beam of light consumed him and transported him out of the room. After a second, the boy opened his eyes and took in the view around him. He was on standing on the surface of what appeared to be a large island floating in the sky. Currently, he was on a stone path which was surrounded by grassland and a few stone structures up ahead. The sound of a beep caught his attention and Mega Man looked down to see a device strapped to his forearm. As he took a closer look, it showed a timer reading five minutes along with a little box underneath which was labeled as notifications. As if sensing Mega Man's confusion, Crazy Hand's booming voice came through the speaker.

"Ah, I almost forgot. Smashers, this device will show you how long you've got before time runs out and it will notify you if there are any events happening throughout the map. You can also check your statistics to get an understanding of what stat boosts you'll need along the way. Smash Mechanics are obviously still on so don't worry about any lasting injuries to yourself or the device. Have fun!" Crazy Hand finished happily.

Mega Man sighed.

"What did you get me into, Sonic?"

He ran ahead with the intent of playing the game and seeing it to the end. It's not like he had a choice anymore. He approached a stone platform mounted to the ground and after jumping onto it, he noticed it was like a small-scale version of the Battlefield stage. In the center, there was a closed treasure chest just waiting to be opened. Mega Man went for the chest before he felt the ground shake. He stopped and transformed his arm into the Mega Buster, aiming it around to see if he could spot something approaching him. There was no one around him yet the ground still rumbled. It wasn't until the Blue Bomber looked down at the platform that he realized it was moving. Before he could begin to think of what was going to happen next, the platform rocketed into the air, taking him with it.

"Woah!" Mega Man yelled as he held on to the ground or dear life.

It suddenly came to a halt and Mega Man got up from the ground to take a look.

The platform was now hovering some several dozen feet in the air. Nearby, there were some clouds that appeared to be platforms that he could jump on and he knew that was his ticket out of there. He turned to the treasure chest and made a move for it again before a dozen enemies of different shapes and sizes appeared right before his eyes. He took aim with his Mega Buster while materializing a Metal Blade in his free hand and got into a battle stance.

"Let's do this."

* * *

Back in the control room, Crazy Hand hovered in the air and monitored the Smashers on four large screens attached to a computer console.

"It seems like they're doing well," he mused.

On one screen, Ganondorf was seen plowing through a group of weaker enemies with his side special. A Starman teleported behind him and fired a PK Beam, landing a direct hit on his back. It was a big mistake. The Gerudo King glared over his shoulder and was about to attack before the alien henchman teleported again. He grinned and charged a Warlock Punch as he turned around. As expected, the Starman appeared right in front of Ganon and it was obliterated by the move. Ganon laughed as he collected it's dropped stat boosts and gold.

Sonic was running circles around a dozen enemies at once and quickly disposed of them with several Spin Dashes. He then dashed throughout the underground caverns while kicking over unsuspecting foes and Spin Charging his way through others. After his carnage, he ran back to the site of his fallen enemies and collected their dropped stat boosts. When he was finished, he sped off deeper into the cavern with a cocky grin. It looks like he was having fun.

Mega Man was fighting off a group of enemies on a platform high up in the air. Some airborne enemies fired projectiles at him, but he activated the Leaf Shield to protect himself from the incoming fire. He then threw the sharpened leaves at two weaker enemies ahead of him and fired several shots from his Mega Buster to take down the others in the air. Meanwhile, a Zuree appeared right behind the Blue Bomber and was about to slash him with each of it's twin red claws. Mega Man noticed this just in time, slid away from the demon and retaliated with a Flame Sword, destroying it instantly. The Blue Bomber collected his spoils and opened the treasure chest at the platforms center to earn his reward.

On the last screen, Little Mac was seen having a little trouble. Currently, he was jumping around while frantically swinging his fists in the air trying to hit a Bronto Burt. The pink creature was laughing as Mac desperately tried to hit it with his fists. It dipped low before quickly flying back up out of the boxer's range to taunt him. Mac grit his teeth and quickly made a plan. When the Bronto Burt dipped low again, Mac performed his up special instead of trying to swing for it and the shocked pink enemy was sent flying away into the blast zone by flurry of rising punches. The boxer sighed in relief, collected his stats and rushed off to the next fight.

"Well, there's a reason why they don't call him Air Mac…" Crazy Hand said, amused by the last display. "But, they're still doing very well. Bah, these settings are too easy for them! I was hoping to have a little fun by hosting this Smash Run and watching these Smashers getting beaten down, but now it looks like I have to take things up a notch."

With that being said, the deranged hand turned a dial on the console in front of him. The label above it read 'Enemy Multiplier' and he turned the dial twice so that the pointer landed on an option that read '4x.' The gloved hand chuckled harshly while he wiggled his fingers.

"Now, this is where the _real_ fun begins!"

Crazy Hand began laughing loudly in typical villainous fashion before Master Hand's booming voice seemingly came from the heavens.

"CRAZY, WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING FOR!?"

The hand in name frantically looked around the room. How the hell does he do that?

"N-Nothing, dear brother! One of the voices in my head just told a funny joke is all!"

That answer seemed to suffice as Master Hand didn't reply. When he knew he was in the clear, Crazy chuckled evilly and continued to see how the Smashers were doing.

* * *

The Blue Bomber jumped from cloud to cloud while firing his Mega Buster at a Cryogonal. The ice Pokémon was quickly dispatched by the solar energy bullets and Mega Man collected some more stat boosts. He continued traveling across the clouds and couldn't help but get a feeling of déjà vu. Think about it: he was making his way through an environment full of enemies who wanted to kill him while evading traps along the way just so he could make it to the final battle in the end. Maybe it was just him.

Mega Man jumped off one of the clouds and landed on another that was at a lower altitude. He continued across the clouds again until he spotted something very familiar. A yellow helmet with a green plus sign on the front stood on a cloud before him. All of a sudden, the helmet popped up to reveal a small robot underneath with large eyes. It shot three energy bullets at Mega Man, but he dodged the projectiles and easily defeated the small robot with a quick shot from the Mega Buster. Mettaurs? He was definitely getting hit with déjà vu now.

"At least everything is going good so far," Mega Man thought to himself as he checked the timer on the device.

Two minutes left.

"I need to get a move on."

Just when the Blue Bomber was about to take another step, he had a feeling he was being watched and looked around.

He was surrounded.

There were Monoeyes, Kihunters, Flame Chomps, Flages, Chandelures among several other types of enemies surrounding him at all sides ready to attack.

Mega Man's eyes widened and his entire body froze. Before he could even decide to what to do next, they all charged at him, giving him no choice but to jump off the platform and fall back down to the ground below. He landed cleanly on his feet once he touched the ground and looked up to see that they were giving chase. Suddenly, he heard the roar of an engine and the sound of tires screeching and turned around. A Devil Car was charging at him fast with exhaust fumes blowing out of it's body like hot steam.

There was only one thing Mega Man could do now.

He had only one last technique up his sleeve.

Run!

The Blue Bomber ran as fast as he could away from the scene and apparently lost them once he made it up a hill to a more forested part of the island. He looked around and found that the coast was clear. He put his hand against a tree trunk nearby and rested for a bit while thinking about what just happened.

"Are there supposed to be that many enemies?!" Mega Man asked incredulously.

Even though he has fought hordes of enemies before and he never experienced Smash Run to get an understanding of how things were supposed to be, he still felt suspicious. There was an entire army chasing him just moments ago! Is that really the standard? Then he remembered Crazy Hand and how he kept cackling madly when he ushered them into the teleporters. Mega Man had a feeling Crazy Hand had something to do with this. Suddenly, he heard a twig snap behind him and he instinctively swung the barrel of his Mega Buster around to strike whoever was there. He was surprised to find that he hit a Cucco into a tree and immediately ran over to it once he realized what he had done.

"I'm sorry, little guy! I thought you were a-"

Mega Man was interrupted by some sort of call from the chicken. On command, several other Cuccos came out of nowhere and stood alongside the one he attacked. They all looked upset. The Blue Bomber's eyes widened and he took a step back, but was immediately attacked by the flock of birds. They mercilessly pecked him with their beaks and tackled his armored body with their feathered ones as he struggled to get them off of him. Meanwhile, a Bonkers stomped his way to the scene and with a grin, swung his large mallet with the intent to launch the blue android in front of him into the sky. After the Cuccos ceased their assault and fled into the forest, the boy turned around just in time to see the end of the mallet coming his way.

"OH SHI-" was all Mega Man could get out before he was sent flying off the island.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the control room, Crazy Hand broke into a fit of laughter and slammed himself on the floor after seeing what happened to the Blue Bomber. He quickly regained his composure and looked at how the other Smashers were doing on the other screens. Hopefully, they were doing even worse.

Ganondorf was facing a horde of enemies yet he still mowed them down with a couple of moves. He stomped a Goomba flat with his large foot and laughed triumphantly. However, he felt the ground shake and he turned to see several Giant Goombas facing him. Ganon rose an eyebrow and smirked, not at all fazed by the group until they jumped on top of each other to from a large stack. His smirk dropped and he took off in a hurry when the tower of Goombas charged at him.

Sonic was currently running through a snow-covered area of the island and eventually came across a Boom Stomper. The giant sentient rock turned and faced the blue hedgehog who grinned and cracked his knuckles.

"Let's see what you've got!"

Meanwhile, a Glice that snuck up behind him opened up its armor plating and released an icy cold blast of from its body. Sonic already began taking off by then, but he was still in range for the lower half of his body to freeze from the attack. He fell flat on his face with a grunt and tried to break the ice with his punches once he realized what happened. A shadow loomed over him and he looked up to see the Boom Stomper falling over to crush him.

"Oh no."

Little Mac was dealing with two Nutskis. He went for one of the chestnut monsters and was quickly pelted with seeds from the other. The boxer went for the one who fired at him, but the other Nutski who had has attention a moment ago then fired its own seeds at him. Frustrated, Mac decided to just run off and deal with something he could hit before a Generator opened up and dozens of Mites jumped out and began assaulting him with jump-kicks while the Nutskis continued firing their nuts at him. The poor boxer could do nothing as he was flung around like a pinball.

"Now this is what I'm talking about! This is the kind of entertainment I was hoping for, but it just isn't enough. How else can I torture these Smashers? How can I make them run headfirst into danger?

Just then, an idea clicked.

"I. Am. A. GENIUS."

* * *

Mega Man finished taking out the last couple of enemies and collected the stat boosts and gold they left behind. After being launched off the island, he landed on a smaller island that was near the main one and was greeted by another horde of enemies. It was a grueling battle, but he managed to pull through thanks to a little ingenuity on his part. The Blue Bomber checked the watch again and it read two minutes. He put his arm down and scanned the surrounding area, only seeing clear blue skies around him.

"How am I gonna get out of here?"

When he turned to his right, he spotted a black, barrel-like object that had a yellow arrow on it. Mega Man recognized it and immediately knew how he was going to get out of there. After jumping inside the cannon and navigating his way through the network of other cannons in the air nearby, he was launched in front of a cave entrance that was on the side of the main island and stuck a landing on his feet. He slowly walked in through the entrance with his Mega Buster drawn and noticed that it wasn't just a cave, but what appeared to be underground ruins. On the wall to his left, there was a stone monument with symbols and drawings of people carved into it while a large stone eyeball was at it's center staring at the ceiling. Small stone boxes holding glowing crystal orbs stood before it and their light was bright enough to illuminate both the monument and the entire room. He stepped into the tiled room even more and noticed a couple of platforms that lead up to a tunnel in the ceiling while another lit path was straight ahead. While this new area was interesting, the Blue Bomber wanted to return to the surface and jumped onto one of the platforms leading upward into the tunnel overhead. He definitely didn't want to get cornered down there by yet another group of enemies.

Mega Man entered the tunnel and continued jumping from platform to platform to climb even higher up the path. He eventually jumped into another room that had even more platforms leading upward to another path and three pillars with glowing crystals at their peaks bathing the area in a cyan glow. Glowing roots of a plant were latched on to the wall and they grew thicker as they trailed higher up the tunnel. The most interesting part to him however was the absence of enemies. He had been wandering around for some time now and nothing appeared out of the blue to attack him. If Mega Man was right about Crazy Hand being behind this, then that means he must be plotting something even worse at the moment if he stopped enemies from appearing. As if on cue, a beep came from the Blue Bomber's device on his forearm and he raised it to see something listed in the notification box.

It read: – Treasure Trove – A secret room has appeared!

A digital tracker appeared on the top right of the screen and a red arrow pointed in the direction of the event while a numerical distance of how far he was from it was shown below it. Once Mega Man read this, he glanced over at the digital timer on the left and saw it read a minute. If he wanted to win this thing, he knew he needed that treasure bonus to give him a major advantage. With newfound determination, the Blue Bomber continued jumping up the platforms and eventually made it to another room full of the glowing plant roots he saw earlier. He checked the device again and according to the tracker, his destination was straight ahead. Suddenly, what sounded like several matches being lit came from behind him and he turned to see a group of Bumpety Bombs charging at him from the other end of the room. Mega Man ran out of the room and went down a tunnel in the direction of the secret room.

* * *

_Presently…_

Mega Man stopped and looked all around him.

Bumpety Bombs were quickly closing in, their fuses almost gone and bodies flashing red, threatening to explode.

Koopa Paratroopas were swooping down from the air.

Eggrobos took aim with their cannons and were about to fire.

The Darknut charged forward and lunged at Mega Man with it's sword.

How was he going to get out of this one?

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that a Koopa Paratroopa was dangerously close as it flew at full speed towards him. As Mega Man watched it, a metaphorical light bulb flickered to life over his head. Koopas were enemies from Mario's universe, right? If he remembered correctly, Mario would jump on them to make them retreat into their shells and to gain a jump boost in the air. He could probably jump on it himself and use it to help him escape this sticky situation. Would it work though? He glanced back at the flashing Bumpety Bombs and looked forward to see the incoming Darknut with it's blade swinging downward.

He made his decision.

When the Koopa Paratroopa was close enough, Mega Man jumped on top of it's head and he was propelled into the air overhead while it retreated into it's shell and landed in his place. The Bumpety Bombs barely missed the Blue Bomber as he did so and continued to go forward, colliding with the Darknut's attack in the process. A large explosion ensued with a bright flash of light that consumed the entire abyss. While the remaining Eggrobos and Koopa Paratroopas were distracted by the blast, the Blue Bomber took them all out with a mix of Mega Buster shots, Metal Blades and aerials. He collected their dropped stats as he was falling and he landed on the other side of the bridge unscathed. Mega Man couldn't believe it. He actually did it!

However, his moment of victory was cut short when out of the smoke, a dark creature wielding a giant black sword began rushing at him. The Darknut survived the explosion, but this time it's armor was off meaning that he was much faster now. Mega Man turned to run away, but stopped when he noticed the tunnel before him. There were only several platforms with enemies standing on each one, poised for attack. The floor below the platforms flickered a couple of times before they became red hot with heat, giving the Blue Bomber the hint that it wasn't safe to step down there. He looked at the tracker on his device and it still told him the secret room was straight ahead. Mega Man didn't see it at first, but then he noticed a little passage beneath the wall at the end of the tunnel and understood where he needed to go. The timer read twenty seconds though and he knew he wasn't going to get past the tunnel in time by fighting through it. But, what if he was launched to the end of the tunnel instead?

The boy glanced behind him at the incoming Darknut and had another risky idea. Facing the Darknut with his arms wide open, Mega Man awaited impact. The Darknut swung it's sword in a deadly arc and slashed him right across the chest. Thanks to the high amount of damage Mega Man accumulated throughout the game, the blow launched him like a cannonball into the tunnel and he plowed through everything that stood in his path. He hit the wall and landed on a nearby platform with a pained groan. He got up and looked across the tunnel at the Darknut, who was fuming and stomping it's foot. Meanwhile, the remaining enemies he knocked off of the platforms were being burned to a crisp by the ground below. The Blue Bomber sighed in relief, grateful that another idea of his worked out in the end. When the floor beneath the platform stopped giving off heat, Mega Man jumped down, went through the passage beneath the wall and jumped up into the secret room. It was a small room that had a fire symbol on the back wall with two torches on each side of the room. He spotted three treasure chests in the middle of the room and went to open one on his side, but it suddenly sprouted legs and began kicking at him. Not bothered to deal with an enemy at the moment, he quickly evaded the Mimicutie's attacks and went to open the one in the center of the room, but it turned out to be another Mimicutie. Spotting the final chest at the end of the room, he desperately ran for it while the two fake chests behind him gave chase. Meanwhile, Crazy Hand began to count down the final seconds.

"Five!"

Mega Man ran even faster upon hearing the hand's voice.

"Four!"

He reached out with his gloved hand.

"Three!"

He was so close, he couldn't lose it now!

"Two!"

The two Mimicuties were closing in and prepared to attack.

"One!"

Reaching the last chest, it opened and Mega Man grabbed the large Arms stat boost that emerged from within.

"TIME!"

With that, Mega Man was immediately teleported away off the island.

* * *

Mega Man opens his eyes and sees that he is standing alongside the three other Smashers while Crazy Hand stood before them. They were on a dirt path with some palm trees in the background. Grasslands surrounded the area around them and the sky was mostly clear of any clouds. After what Mega Man had just been through, he considered the place to be heaven on Earth. He looked at his device and decided to check his statistics since he never did so before and saw that they weren't too bad. All of his statistics were average overall with the exception of his Arms being much higher than the rest. Hopefully that was enough.

"Hey Megs, how was your run?" Sonic asked as he came over.

"Stressful."

"I know, right? I've done this a couple of times before, but I don't remember there being that many enemies."

"It was crazy!" Little Mac said as he walked up to the duo. "Especially at the end where I ran right into an army as I was trying to get to the treasure room!"

"He's right," Ganon spoke with his arms crossed. "There were too many of them. It's as if someone tampered with the rules for their own amusement."

The Smashers turned their attention to Crazy Hand.

"What's this? You think I, the esteemed Crazy Hand, would do such a dastardly thing? I would never wish to put my beloved Smashers through such torture," the hand said, feigning innocence.

The Gerudo King stomped towards the hand with an accusatory finger.

"I know your tricks, Hand! You're lucky I had nothing to do today otherwise I would have never participated in one of your games!"

"Don't be such a crybaby! All of you made it out alive, didn't you? Besides, you all collected plenty of gold for yourselves to enjoy and now you get to compete against each other for all of the glory," Crazy Hand said as he gestured to the path ahead.

"What's this?" Little Mac asked.

"I'm glad you asked, Not Big Mac. This is a simple foot race. Everyone has to run through the hazardous cave ahead from here and cross the finish line at the end. The first one to do so wins."

"Any tricks this time?" the Blue Bomber inquired.

"Maybe… but you'll have to see for yourself!"

Everyone groaned.

"Hey hey hey, we're already at the end. There's no backing out now!" Crazy Hand sang.

"Tricks or not, it doesn't matter." Sonic said as he stepped forward with a cocky grin. "Cause I know I'm gonna be the first one to cross that finish line."

"Don't flatter yourself, roadkill. I'll stomp you flat into the ground before that happens and I won't be bested by newcomers," Ganondorf spat.

The two veterans then began to have a back and forth over who was going to win. Little Mac glared at Ganon until Mega Man put his hand on his shoulder. The boxer looked over his shoulder and saw that the Blue Bomber had a warm smile on his face.

"Don't worry about any of that, Mac. Let's just do our best, okay?"

Little Mac nodded with a smile of his own. "Yeah. Thanks, Mega Man."

"All right! If everyone just lines up in front of me, we can get this race started!" Crazy Hand announced, catching the attention of the Smashers.

They all lined up side by side in front of Crazy Hand who then floated off to the side of the dirt path. The hand made himself into the shape of a finger gun and he pointed himself up in the air. The Smashers got into a stance and waited. Mega Man glanced at his device again and was slightly worried when he read his statistics. His speed stat was average and that wasn't assuring when he was competing against Sonic and Little Mac, who were both naturally fast on foot. Ganondorf was heavy weight and slow, but thanks to the stat boosts he collected, Mega Man was sure he was much faster. He shook his head and focused on the path ahead of him. He couldn't afford to doubt himself now.

"Ready?"

The four Smashers stared ahead and awaited the signal to start running.

"Oh yeah, something's going to chase you guys and if you get caught, you're eliminated from the race, okay?"

"Wait what?" Little Mac asked.

"GO!" Crazy Hand shouted as he fired a blast from his fingers.

At that very moment, what sounded like eerie 8-bit music came from behind the group and they all turned around. An Orne was floating behind them and it let out a piercing cry as it charged at them with it's mouth wide open.

"Gotta go fast!" Sonic shouted, immediately taking off after seeing it.

Everyone else ran right after the blue hedgehog while the Orne gave chase. As Mega Man expected, Sonic was far ahead in first place with Little Mac taking a steady second. He was relieved to know that he was at least in third place with Ganon not far behind him. Sonic and Little Mac ran inside the cave entrance and Mega Man and Ganon followed after them. The Smashers ran up a steep tunnel until eventually, Sonic reached the end of the tunnel where there were a couple of platforms above a ravine. The blue blur casually made it across and continued deeper into the cave with Little Mac doing the same. The Blue Bomber also had no issue with the platforms until he heard a battle cry from behind him. Once he turned around, he saw that Ganon was above him in the air and was about to crush him with a Wizard's Foot. He made the final jump to the other side of the ravine from his platform and effectively evaded the attack while he continued to run deeper into the cave with the Gerudo King on his tail.

"Ganondorf, what are you doing!? We have to keep running or else it will catch up to us!" Mega Man shouted over his shoulder.

"As if that matters! I will not be bested by a newcomer, especially by a machine who's known as a 'noble' hero!"

Mega Man said nothing and continued running. Eventually, Mega Man saw that the tunnel ahead branched off into two – one above and one below. He took the lower path and ran slid down a slope with Ganondorf following suit. The King of Evil lunged forward and performed his forward aerial, but Mega Man dashed out of the way. He tried to attack the blue android several more times without any success as he missed each time. Now visibly angry, Ganon decided to just run at the moment until an opportunity arose. The Blue Bomber quickly bolted up several limestone steps carved into the ground and made his way into another section of the cave. It was a large hall with stone brick floors and carved symbols on the walls. What really caught his eye however, was the bed of bright red spikes that lay ahead. Seeing his opportunity, Ganon dashed forward and performed his Flame Choke. Mega Man saw this when he glanced over his shoulder and responded by side stepping the Gerudo King's outstretched hand and sticking out his metallic foot. This caused Ganon to trip over his foot and fall right onto the bed of spikes that was now before them, knocking him out in a colorful explosion. With a sigh, Mega Man continued on his way while Ganondorf spawned back at the beginning of the hall. Before he could even shout out some nasty comments, the 8-bit music approached once more and he took off running. That machine was going to pay.

Sonic had successfully navigated his way through the spikes littered throughout the hall and ran ahead to the next section of the race. Little Mac was having more difficulty as he carefully jumped over more and more spikes blocking his path. He saw someone running past him and realized it was Mega Man as he skillfully dodged the obstacles in his way while running at full speed. The boxer's jaw hung open at the sight. How was he doing that? The Blue Bomber noticed him and gave him a smile and a thumbs up while weaving his way around more spikes and making it out of the exit. Little Mac snapped out of his stupor and continued to make his way through the spikes surrounding him. The path branched off and Mega Man took the lower path again as he made it down several platforms hanging over a pit to a tunnel. It took him upward into another tunnel that had platforms slanting downward and he eventually made it to another section of the cave where he began jumping from one platform to the next over a dark abyss below. Mega Man made it to an elongated platform that had spikes hanging dangerously overhead and sprinted across with sheer determination. If he wanted to win this race, he needed to get out of there before Sonic and make a break for the finish line. However, he heard footfalls from behind him and saw that Little Mac was gaining on him fast. Mega Man looked away and kept moving forward as fast as he could. Mac stopped and began charging a Straight Lunge, hoping the attack would send Mega Man into one of the spikes nearby.

"Sorry Mega Man, but I'm not gonna lose now!"

The Blue Bomber failed to notice this as he continued running, but he did notice when Ganondorf fell from above and landed on the other end of the platform. With a smirk, the Gerudo King charged a Warlock Punch. Mega Man grit his teeth upon the sudden revelation. How did he get ahead of him? Regardless, Mega Man challenged his opponent and dashed onward. As he drew near, Ganon laughed menacingly. The boy knew that he was charging his most devastating attack yet he still came forward? Instead of running away, Mega Man was approaching _him_?

"Heh. Foolish machine."

Ganondorf unleashed his attack as soon as Mega Man was close, but was shocked to see the Blue Bomber dodge it by sliding past him between his legs. Right before this, Little Mac let his Straight Lunge go and was rocketing forward at Mega Man's form until he suddenly slid away to reveal the Gerudo King about to swing with his Warlock Punch. The poor boxer screamed in terror until he took the powerful blow and was sent flying into one of the spikes overhead, knocking him out in an explosion. Furious, Ganon turned around to see Mega Man jumping his way up some platforms to the exit of the cave. Before he could even hope to give chase, he noticed something stuck to his leg – a Crash Bomb. The sticky explosive blew up and sent Ganon into another bed of spikes nearby to knock him out again. He spawned some several platforms behind and noticed Little Mac was already running ahead in a hurry. After hearing the 8-bit music creeping up behind him again, Ganon knew exactly why. He was too late to run though and the Orne caught him, effectively eliminating him from the race. Little Mac also shared the same fate when he failed a jump and was sent back right into the Orne's grasp.

Meanwhile, Mega Man made it to the exit of the cave and noticed Sonic was already running towards the holographic finish line. Knowing that he was too slow to catch up to him, Mega Man lost all hope until he spotted a stat boost nearby. It was a temporary Speed buff. He dove for the stat boost, acquired it and dashed forward at breakneck speed.

Sonic was smiling to himself as he ran, satisfied with knowing that he was going to score another easy victory. During his run, Sonic deliberately didn't collect any Speed stat boosts as he knew he wouldn't need them. He was already the fastest being in Smash! It wasn't necessary to increase his speed even further if no one else rivaled him. The blue hedgehog would soon regret that decision when he heard metallic thuds behind him and turned to see what it was. Mega Man, eyes filled with the desire to win and body emanating a blue aura, was catching up to him fast. Sonic's eyes widened and he quickened his pace. The Blue Bomber was getting closer and closer to Sonic as he continued running. He knew that the Speed buff was about to run out at any second now and he needed to act quickly or else Sonic was going to get ahead of him again. Once he was close enough, Mega Man grabbed Sonic and performed a back throw to send him behind. Thanks to his above average Arm stat, Sonic was sent flying a good distance away as Mega Man crossed the finish line just in time.

"FINISH!"

After he crossed the finish line, Mega Man was enveloped in light again and was teleported out of the map.

* * *

Mega Man opened his eyes and stepped out of the teleporter in the control room to see the other Smashers and Crazy Hand waiting.

Crazy Hand came over and patted the him on the back.

"Congratulations, Mega Man! You have won the race!"

Little Mac and Sonic also came up to congratulate the Blue Bomber with the exception of Ganondorf, who just stood there with his arms crossed and gaze elsewhere in the room.

"Well, if it wasn't for that Speed stat at the end, I would have never made it."

"Ohhh, I see. You got lucky," Sonic said with a grin. "I knew there was no way you could've caught up to me. It doesn't matter though, a win's a win."

"Man, that was intense," Little Mac said as he rubbed the back of neck with his boxing glove still on.

"Yeah next time, I don't think I'm joining another Smash Run that's hosted by Crazy Hand," Mega Man said as he turned to the deranged hand.

"You guys are no fun! No matter, I'll just find other Smashers who want to have fun with me and you'll all come crawling back eventually," Crazy Hand said as he went over to the computer console to reset the settings.

"Hey guys, wanna go to the dining hall to rest up? I'm starving," Sonic said. The two newcomers agreed and the trio left the room with Sonic going on a rant about how many chili dogs he felt like he could eat.

A major lesson Mega Man learned from this whole experience was this: if Crazy Hand is hosting anything in Smash, never join it.

Meanwhile, Ganondorf scowled at them as they left and began stomping out of the room himself. That machine thought he could make a mockery of him? Well, he had another thing coming. Ganon would have his revenge and his next encounter with the Blue Bomber wouldn't be a pleasant one. As he left, Crazy Hand saw this and shrugged.

"Crybaby."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. This one's a really long chapter. I didn't expect to write this much. As I was almost done writing this chapter, I noticed that the plot is eerily similar to one of the chapters of my favorite Mega Man story on the Smash Brothers Archive. A coincidence, I swear. It was only until I went back to the story right after making this realization that I connected the dots. Must've been a subconscious thing since I like that story so much. Also, while it may seem out of character for Mega Man to swear, he does so a lot in Super Adventure Rockman whenever he gets ambushed by a bunch of enemies so I thought I'd make a reference to the game here. Anyway, I'll see you guys in the next chapter.


	5. Angel Behind Your Shoulder

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it's been quite a while. Over two months to be exact and I do apologize. I've been meaning to update this series for a while but you know, me being a high school student on the verge of graduating makes things rather complicated with AP exams, college duties and finals on my ass. Regardless, I've been graced with a window of free time and I'm back and here to deliver. This series isn't dead and I'll be damned if it ever will be. Let's go.

A faint click was picked up by Mega Man as he and Sonic were walking down one of the halls of the Smash Mansion one sunny afternoon. It was hard to hear anything over the blue blur's running mouth, but he was certain that he heard something. Mega Man stopped and turned around to scan the hallway and see if there was anyone else there with them at the moment. There was no one.

"Uh, Megs? What's up?" Sonic asked when he noticed Mega Man was now behind him.

"I think I heard something," Mega Man said as he kept looking around.

Sonic rose an eyebrow and scanned their surroundings himself with the same results.

"Well I don't see anyone or anything that could've made a noise."

"I could've sworn I heard something though…"

Sonic sighed. "Just come on already! It's lunch time and I'm starving!"

Before the Blue Bomber could protest, he was being dragged away from the scene with the hedgehog's gloved hand having a firm grip on his arm.

"What was I talking about again? Oh yeah, so then I said…" Sonic then continued to tell some story from before as they continued down the hall.

Meanwhile, behind a curtain beside one of the large windows, a sigh of relief could be heard. A head full of chestnut brown hair peeks out from behind the curtain and a pair of blue eyes looks around the hall. After confirming that he was clear, Pit got out from behind the curtain and removed the photograph that had been printed out from the slot of his Polaroid camera. He waved the flimsy photograph in the air before turning it over to take a good look at what he captured and was pleased to see a blue figure beginning to materialize in the black void. The photograph eventually cleared up to reveal the still image of Mega Man laughing at Sonic's story moments before with his eyes closed and scrunched up in joy while the afternoon sunlight made his blue armor shine brilliantly.

"He's so cool..." Pit said after he let out a dreamy sigh. "But I have to be careful, they almost caught me there!"

He put the photograph in his pocket and jogged down the hall with the intent of catching up to the Blue Bomber. The white Polaroid camera was in his grasp, protectively being held by both of his hands while it's strap was over his neck for extra security. Pit was free from any battles today and Palutena didn't have any tasks for him to complete. That meant he had all the time in the world and could spend it in any way he liked. And what better way to spend your day than to take more pictures of your favorite hero in a completely not-so-creepy way? Throughout the day, Pit observed Mega Man from afar and took several more pictures of him interacting with the other Smashers.

In one picture, Mega Man caught Bowser Jr. trying to steal jewelry from Peach's room. The annoyed Koopaling was held from the back of his bib in the air while the hero glared at him with disapproval. Peach was seen to the side of the photo, giggling at the sight.

Another picture he took showed a picture of Kirby inhaling Mega Man's lunch. The Blue Bomber was distraught while Sonic and Little Mac laughed at his expense. Meanwhile, Ryu simply smiled as he continued to eat his fourth plate of food.

Later, he took a photo which showed Mega Man greeting Link and Zelda as he passed them by in the mansion. At the time, Link kindly nodded in acknowledgment, but Zelda jumped up in shock as if she had seen a ghost and meekly greeted him back. Pit thought the exchange was rather odd. It looked like Zelda was… _nervous_ around Mega Man? Maybe he was overthinking it.

After several more photo sessions, Pit walked back to his room feeling completely content with his work that day. He gave his pocket a tap and was pleased to feel the small bulge of the stack of photos within. He knew exactly where _these_ were going to go, but first he needed to make sure no one was around so he wouldn't get caught. It was when he was near his room that Pit became cautious. As he approached his door, he glanced around the hall to make sure no one was around and quickly pulled out his key card. The angel unlocked the door by using the card on the scanner to the left and opened it slightly ajar before rapping his knuckles against the hard wood.

"Hey Pitoo? Are you here?" the angel asked as he opened the door completely and stepped inside.

No answer.

Pit closed the door behind him and walked ahead. As he walked further into the room, he looked around and noticed the it was empty. Not convinced, the angel checked around both of the beds, looked in the closets and even the bathroom.

Empty.

No one was in the room.

Knowing Pitoo, he was probably out again battling with other Smashers or maybe just training as he usually did. With his mind at ease, Pit went over to his bed and knelt down to reach under his bed. He pulled out a small chest with a lock on it and after rummaging through his pockets for the right key, unlocked it and opened it up to reveal even more of Pit's dirty secret. Inside there were a couple of more stacks of photos and all of them were of Mega Man in some shape or form. Each stack was wrapped in a rubber band and neatly placed next to each other with dates written on the corners of each photo. The angel pulled out the new stack of photos he took for the day and grabbed an extra rubber band from within the chest to wrap it up before he placed it next to an old stack he took a couple of days ago.

Pit sat back and admired his little collection with a happy sigh. He had been secretly taking photographs of Mega Man for over a week now and he would save them to honor him like the true hero he was. From his iconic shiny helmet and awesome Mega Buster to even his metal boots, the hero was a true blue knight in shining armor. Pit knew that Smash was full of heroes just like him, but for some reason Mega Man caught his attention the most. The angel thought it was likely because of his origin story or how he valiantly fights against any foe for the sake of humanity and robot kind as well as the peace he believed was possible between the two. That was probably it and that along with other reasons is likely how Pit turned into an obsessive fanboy. Taking pictures of your hero isn't wrong, right? What he was doing definitely wasn't creepy. Nope, not at all. He was just Mega Man's guardian angel that watched over him from afar. Pit lightly chuckled and shook his head. Lady Palutena would've probably laughed at that.

However, Pit was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice the looming figure behind him. The dark figure lunged out from behind the angel's shoulder and swiped one of the stacks of photos from Pit's chest. Pit uttered a yelp as the figure pushed him to the side and he looked up in horror to see who the person was.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" Dark Pit said as he waved the stack of photos in front of Pit's face.

"H-Hey! Give it back!" Pit cried as he lunged for the photos.

His dark counterpart jumped back and Pit crashed onto the floor.

Dark Pit smirked. "It looks like Palutena's precious servant is a creep!"

"T-That's not true! I took those pictures because… because…"

"Because what? Because you wanted to have Mega Man under your pillow so you could sleep like a baby at night? Or maybe you keep him in your pocket as a good luck charm before a battle?"

"N-No!" Pit shouted. "H-How are you here anyway?! I checked the entire room!"

"Transparency."

Pit mentally facepalmed as Dark Pit took off the rubber band from the stack and began going through the stack of pictures. The whole time he shook his head in disapproval while Pit sat on the floor nervously twiddling his thumbs. Once the dark angel was done, he gave Pit a scrutinizing gaze.

"I had a feeling something was up when you started disappearing on some days and so I waited for you to come back this time. And now look at what I found," Dark Pit said as he wrapped the rubber band back around the stack of photos.

"Pitoo, it's not what you think-"

"Don't call me that!"

"It's not what you think!"

"Oh, but I think it is!" Dark Pit said. "I always knew there was something wrong with you, but stalking?"

"You don't understand, I'm not a creep!"

"Really? So what were you going to do next, make a Mega Man shrine and pray with your Mega Man bible!?"

"Well, that was a funny thought I had this one time-"

"Ugh! I'm telling Palutena about this!"

"NOIWON'TLETYOU!" Pit shouted as he tackled his doppelganger to the ground.

Both teens crashed to the ground and began wrestling each other over the photos before someone cleared their throat from the doorway. They both looked over at the open door to see Palutena standing there with her hands on her hips and an eyebrow arched.

"And just what are you two fighting about now?"

"Lady Palutena, w-why are you here?" Pit asked while pinned beneath his doppelganger.

"We were all supposed to have dinner, remember? Now explain."

Dark Pit immediately got up and rushed to Palutena's side.

"Here, see for yourself!" the dark angel said as he shoved the stack of photos in the goddess' hands.

Palutena gave Dark Pit an annoyed look before she inspected the photos. Pit watched in horror as his goddess held his dirty secret in her hands. She hummed as she looked at each photo and it seemed like she was analyzing them as if they were the most perplexing thing in the world. Her eyebrows were scrunched up together and her emerald eyes roamed over the pictures from top to bottom. Meanwhile, the poor angel stood slumped on the floor while Dark Pit had his arms crossed with a smug grin on his face.

"So as you can see, your little angel is nothing but a stalker." Dark Pit said as he gestured to Pit on the floor. "What do you have to say about that?"

The goddess looked up. "Pit, is this true?"

"Uh… y-yeah. It's true." The angel said as his head dropped down. "You probably think I'm a creep, don't you Lady Palutena?"

"Are you kidding? Pit, you're a natural!"

"Yeah that's right you- wait what!?" the dark angel exclaimed.

"H-Huh?" Pit said as he got up from the floor.

"These are amazing pictures! Especially this one here, I love how you captured Mega Man's determination and his pure heart at the same time!" Palutena gushed as she looked at the described photo with stars in her eyes.

Pit blinked before he rushed over to her side with a smile on his face.

"Yeah! That's what I was aiming for!"

The goddess of light and her army captain then began to talk about the moments captured in the photos and how they each exposed certain traits of the Blue Bomber among other things. In other words, the two were legitimately fangirling over him. Meanwhile, Dark Pit felt like he was going to have a stroke. His fists shook and his left eye twitched as he witnessed the display before him. Having enough of this, he took a step forward.

"HOLD ON!"

Palutena and Pit stopped talking and looked at the dark angel.

"Palutena, you're telling me you _approve_ of what Pit's been doing!?"

"I never said that," she stated matter-of-factly.

"But you're praising his work!"

The goddess of light blushed. "W-Well, they _are_ good pictures."

Dark Pit crossed his arms and gave her a disapproving look.

She sighed before she gave her full attention to Pit and took on a serious demeanor.

"Pit, while these pictures are good, this isn't right. I know that your intentions are pure and you really admire Mega Man, but following him around like that is certainly pushing it. I'm sure even he would be creeped out."

Ashamed, Pit cast his gaze elsewhere in the room and scratched the back of his neck after hearing Palutena's lecture. Deep down, Pit knew she was right. The goddess gently placed her hand on his shoulder once she saw his downcast expression and spoke again in a motherly tone.

"Pit, if you admire him so much, then why don't you speak to him?"

"Speak to him?" Pit asked with uncertainty.

"Yeah, speak to him. As in talking to him face-to-face. You know, like what normal people do?" Dark Pit chimed in.

Palutena ignored the dark angel. "Yes, Pit. Greet him in the halls, talk to him and ask him for a battle some time. Try to befriend him. It's quite clear that you want to."

Pit rubbed his arm as he thought about her proposal.

"I don't know, Lady Palutena. The real reason why I even started doing this in the first place is _because_ I'm too nervous to speak to him..."

"What is there to be nervous about?" the goddess said with a chuckle as she led them to his bed where they sat down with Dark Pit nearby.

"Well, he's just Mega Man. He's a legendary hero whose adventures are known throughout the multiverse. He's like _my_ hero. Meanwhile, I'm just Pit," Pit said as he fell back on his bed.

"Just Pit? Well, you're the same Pit who defeated Medusa, you're the same Pit who saved all realms from Hades and you're the same Pit who helped the Super Smash Brothers in their fight against the Subspace Army. You're just as much of a hero as Mega Man is and believing otherwise is just silly," Palutena said.

She looked over at Dark Pit and nodded her head in the direction of Pit, giving him a sign to say something.

"Give me a break…" Dark Pit grumbled as he made his way to the side of the bed where he stood over the angel.

"Yeah Pit, you're a hero too. Now can you stop acting like this so we can go eat?"

The goddess of light was about to scold him before Pit got up from his bed.

"Yeah you're right, this is silly. Let's go get dinner," Pit said as he took the Polaroid camera off of his neck and tossed it onto the bed.

"Remember Pit, just try and talk to him. Mega Man is known to be a kind and gentle individual," Palutena said as they headed out of the room while Dark Pit locked the door behind them.

"Palutena, you've hardly met the guy yourself so why are you speaking so highly of him?" the dark angel asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Um, no reason."

He shrugged and kept walking. Meanwhile, Palutena discreetly leaned over to Pit and whispered, "Pit, when we get back, can I have that photo where Mega Man has his helmet off? He's so cute!"

Dark Pit heard this however and facepalmed.

* * *

_The next morning…_

Mega Man and Ryu were sitting at their usual table that morning enjoying their breakfast after a long sparring session. Well, Ryu was anyway. The Blue Bomber was on edge and was constantly looking around him. He checked under his table for the eight time and scanned the other tables in the dining hall as if he were looking for someone. The street fighter noticed this and he began to worry. This wasn't the first time Mega Man was acting like this. Even during their sparring session, he kept looking around the clearing and inspecting the trees from top to bottom as if expecting someone to be there watching them. Putting his fork down, Ryu straightened up and faced his friend with the intent of getting to the bottom of his behavior.

"Is everything all right, Mega Man?" Ryu asked.

"No, everything's not all right," Mega Man answered truthfully.

"What's wrong?"

Mega Man looked around for a final time before he leaned forward and gestured for Ryu to do the same. The martial artist hesitantly obliged and leaned forward as well so that their faces were close to each other.

"I think someone has been watching me," Mega Man whispered.

Ryu blinked. "Watching you?"

He nodded. "It feels like someone's been watching me this entire week. Just yesterday, I heard a sound when Sonic and I were walking in the mansion."

"What kind of sound?"

"It was a clicking sound. Now that I think about it, it sounded like… a camera."

"I see," Ryu said as he crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair.

"If someone's watching me, then what should I do? No, the real question is why are they even watching me at all?"

"A secret admirer perhaps?"

"A secret admirer?" Mega Man asked as he rubbed his chin, looking very much like his creator at the moment. "What makes you say that?"

"I have one back home. Well, not a secret admirer but an admirer nonetheless," Ryu said with a sigh.

"Really? What are they like?"

"She's a bit... obsessive. She wears similar clothes to mine, she imitates my martial arts style, she always finds me every time I'm in town and she constantly begs me to take her on as an apprentice," Ryu finished as he sipped his tea.

"Wow," Mega Man said as Ryu nodded in agreement.

"Yes, it can be overwhelming, but she means well and she's very optimistic in her goal to become a powerful street fighter."

"Then why not train her?"

"It's as I've said before, Mega Man. There's still much for me to learn." Ryu said as he took another sip of his tea. "Yet that doesn't stop her from asking every time."

"Do you think she likes you then? You know, in an _intimate_ way?"

Ryu sat back and looked up in thought.

"I... never thought about it that way. If that's true, then I would imagine it being weird since she just became a university student."

"Oh."

And like that the conversation was dropped. Mega Man's face was red from embarrassment and he now remembered the stack of pancakes on his plate. Grabbing the syrup bottle at the end of the table, he began to coat his meal with the sweet nectar as he found himself lost in his thoughts. Just a few moments ago, he was concerned with the fact that someone was watching him from afar with a camera, but now he was rather somewhat flattered? The Blue Bomber thought back to what Ryu told him and he wondered if it was the same case for him. Mega Man visualized a cute girl wearing his armor and he couldn't help but find it… well cute. Just the thought of someone having such a strong affection for him made him feel warm inside. But then again, what would he know? Love was a concept he was very unfamiliar with and he didn't think Dr. Light ever had the intention for him to even love in the first place. Being someone in his line of work, he never had the chance to really exercise the complex emotions he had been gifted with nor had he ever thought about exercising them at all. All his life, he had been fighting his own kind and stopping a madman's plans for world domination yet not once had love crossed his mind. But, as he thought about it, he wasn't opposed to it and was actually curious about love and what it entailed. Will he ever experience it for himself? Or was it an impossibility because he was a robot let alone Mega Man?

However, he couldn't let his fantasies get the best of him. This was Smash and if he learned anything, it was to expect the unexpected. Whoever this person was could very well have ill or creepy intent as opposed to what he thought of. He needed to get to the bottom of whoever was watching him and what their intentions were. And if it so happened that his little fantasy _did_ come true…

Then he had an entirely different dilemma on his hands.

"Mega Man?"

"H-Huh?" the boy said as he snapped out of his thoughts.

"Your plate's full of syrup," Ryu said as he pointed at his plate.

Mega Man looked down and noticed that his pancakes were in fact drowning in syrup.

"Woah!"

In an effort to stop himself from putting more syrup, the Blue Bomber moved to slam the bottle back on the table but instead it slipped through his fingers and it was flung away from the table.

"Ow!" King Dedede said from his table as he was hit on the head by the bottle.

"Sorry!" Mega Man shouted.

"Don't worry about it," he said as he stopped talking to Luigi and Ness and looked over at their table. The king suddenly perked up upon seeing Mega Man's plate.

"Not bad, kid. Not bad."

And with that, Dedede collected the bottle from the floor and began dumping a load of syrup on his huge plate of waffles, eggs and hash browns. Luigi and Ness witnessed the scene and looked disturbed. Mega Man and Ryu glanced at each other in confusion before shrugging it off and starting a new conversation.

Across the dining hall, Pit walked in through the entrance and anxiously scanned the crowd. After his talk with Palutena and some words from Dark Pit, he decided to drop his stalking ways and normally approach Mega Man. That doesn't mean he wasn't nervous though. He began to sweat a little and his heart was beating rapidly in his chest with the thought of conversing with his idol. What would he even say? What would he even do? How would he even approach him? Just then, the angel spotted Mega Man sitting with Ryu by the windows. _Great, he's sitting with someone too,_ Pit thought dryly. It was at this point that Pit didn't know if he could do this.

He needed help.

At another table, Palutena was sitting with some other female Smashers. They were all enjoying breakfast and casually talking. Actually, they were talking about the newcomers and a certain duo was brought up by Peach.

"What do you girls think about Mega Man and Ryu over there?" She gestured to the pair at their table. "From what I've heard, they're formidable opponents."

"Oh yes, I've heard that as well. Also, that Mega Man is a little cutie pie!" Rosalina said with a chuckle as Luma cried in agreement.

"Jiggly!" Jigglypuff said, likely to agree with the space princess.

"He _is_ strong," Zelda said as she ate from her bento box. Oddly enough, it sounded like she was remembering something unpleasant when she spoke.

"It's a shame that _the incident_ happened in the first major tournament, I was really rooting for him," Palutena said as she sipped her coffee.

Peach gasped. "Oh my, you're lucky Samus isn't around to hear you."

The goddess playfully rolled her eyes.

"Why? Because I mentioned _the incident_ or because I wasn't rooting for her?"

"Both."

The Smashers all laughed and enjoyed the moment before-

"LADY PALUTENA!"

"Gah!"

From out of nowhere, Pit came crashing onto the scene. After recollecting herself from the shock of his sudden appearance, she gave him an annoyed look.

"What's wrong, Pit?"

"I need your help!"

Palutena turned to her friends. "Excuse me for a moment."

The others nodded and the two walked away from the table before stopping a good distance away.

"Okay, what's wrong?" Palutena asked with her arms crossed.

"Well, I'm taking your advice to approach Mega Man over there, but I can't bring myself to do it."

Her expression softened. "Why not?"

"I just can't. Especially when someone is sitting with him! Maybe I should just try again later-"

"Why don't we go over there together?"

"Wait, really?" Pit said.

"Of course, anything to get you over this. Now, come on!" Palutena said. While it was true that she wanted to help Pit out, she also wanted the chance to speak with Mega Man as well. It sounded like fun. She dragged the angel by his wing as they approached the duo's table. Meanwhile, Pit was trying to calm himself the whole time. Mega Man and Ryu were still having some idle chit-chat when they noticed the two had arrived.

"Hello!" Palutena said with a warm smile. "I'm Palutena and I'm a newcomer here. And this is my loyal servant Pit!"

As she said this, she lifted Pit upright from his wing and made him stand on his feet. He didn't appreciate the fact that Palutena called him her servant right in front of Mega Man, but he meekly waved in greeting anyway upon seeing him.

"Oh, nice to meet you!" Mega Man said with a warm smile of his own. "I'm Mega Man and this is my friend Ryu. We're both newcomers too."

"Hello," Ryu said with a nod. The Blue Bomber knew firsthand he wasn't the best at introductions, but then again so was he to lesser extent.

"Is there anything we can do for you?" Mega Man said as he looked at the two expectantly.

"We just thought it would be nice to drop by and get acquainted. Also, Pit here has a lot to discuss with you, Mega Man," she said as she pushed him forward a little.

"Oh, well I'm all ears!" he said as he pulled out the extra seat beside him.

Pit was in disbelief. His idol is willing to talk to him and he just pulled a seat out for him to sit on. He didn't know if he was going to explode of happiness or die from the amount of pressure that was on his shoulders. Regardless, the angel took his seat next to the Blue Bomber while the goddess sat next to the martial artist. In order to have Pit and Mega Man in a single conversation, she began to speak to Ryu about his excellent performance in the second major tournament.

"Hey Pit, aren't you that Smasher who cheered for me in the first tournament?" Mega Man asked as he gave his full attention to the angel.

"U-Uh, yeah that was me," Pit managed to say.

"I knew I recognized you from somewhere," he said with a smile. "Well, I just want to say thank you for rooting for me. I was nervous at the time so you cheering for me really made me feel more at ease."

Pit nearly passed out from the compliment.

"Y-You? Nervous? But, you're Mega Man! You shouldn't have to worry about a thing!"

Mega Man chuckled. "I wish that was true, but nope, I'm being serious."

With a surge of confidence, Pit continued their talk and they eventually got into a long conversation about the first tournament and all of the matches Mega Man went through. Throughout the whole time of match-up discussions and compliments, Pit felt like he was on cloud nine. Here he was talking to Mega Man and he was holding a real conversation with him. Palutena was right, there wasn't anything to be nervous about. He really was kind and respectful. They were so deep in their conversation that Palutena noticed them from across the table. The goddess smiled and was proud of Pit for taking a chance. He was always brave once he set his mind to it.

"That match with Fox was amazing!" Pit said with glee. "He was much faster, but you managed to win out in the end. Must be the experience from dealing with fast Robot Masters in the past, right?"

"You… know what a Robot Master is?" Mega Man asked, surprised.

"Oh well…"

 _Crap! I just said something too personal!_ Pit internally yelled.

Mega Man looked at him expectantly with that surprised face.

"I-I've actually been reading about you. I found a book about you in the Multiversal Library and I just couldn't help, but read the whole thing," Pit admitted truthfully. When Pit had found out about Mega Man, he used the library to learn more about him and ultimately that's what made his admiration for the blue hero grow. What he didn't admit however was the fact that he couldn't read and how Palutena had to read it to him sometimes before bed. He expected Mega Man to look creeped out, but instead he looked flattered.

"Wow, the mansion has a library? And there's even a book about me?"

Pit grinned. "Yeah, didn't you know?"

"No, not really. There was a time when I laid low and I never had the chance to explore the mansion too much."

Sensing an opportunity, Pit immediately made a suggestion.

"Well, why don't we head over there after breakfast? I'll even show you the book about you."

Mega Man nodded. "Yeah, that sounds great!"

After that, they continued to talk with Ryu and Palutena joining in themselves.

* * *

After Mega Man and Pit finished breakfast and said farewell to their respective partners, the two headed towards the Multiversal Library. It actually wasn't too far from Mega Man's room which surprised the Blue Bomber even more how he hadn't heard of the place before. Once they arrived through the grand wooden doors, Mega Man was astonished with what he found inside. The library was huge with several dozen floors all filled with large bookshelves filled with countless books of many sizes, colors and ages. The library had an old rustic kind of feel, with red carpets in the aisles, chandeliers and other fancy lighting hanging from the ceiling and walls, some resting areas where guests could sit down on vintage furniture before a fireplace among other common areas and tropes one would normally find. Perhaps Master Hand was very old-fashioned.

"Woah," Mega Man said in wonder. "How will we ever find my book in a place like this?"

Pit smiled, happy that he made Mega Man feel this way by bringing him here.

"Come on, I'll show you."

The two walked down one of the aisles from the entrance to a machine. It had a computer with a monitor, keyboard and mouse along with a sort of compartment where it seemed like items could fit into and be removed from.

"This is the Book Finder. You can use the built-in Filters option in the machine to help you find specific books that you're looking for," Pit said, feeling smart due to his explanation. "Since this is the Multiversal Library, there are books from across the multiverse about heroes, villains and general fighters. So you'll definitely need this to find something you want."

"Books from the multiverse?" Mega Man asked in awe. "Who writes them?"

"No one knows. Me and the other veterans think that Master Hand likely uses his powers to make them while he's gaining information from searching for potential Smashers. You know, as a way to take notes. But we also guess that since this library is tied to the multiverse, books just come into existence and fill up the shelves."

 _That would explain why this place is so huge,_ Mega Man thought as he scanned the massive area. To think that each book in the massive library told the stories of people from across the multiverse was surreal to the boy. Just how many heroes and villains were there? How many battles were fought? How many lives were lost? That last thought brought a flash of sadness to Mega Man. Thankfully, it was quickly pushed away when Pit's optimism broke through as he spoke.

"Anyway, to give you an example of how the machine works, I'll get your book right now!"

With that, Pit went over to the machine and typed in the specific filters. Pit typed with lightning speed and precision that only a person who has done this before could manage. After confirming his request, the machine beeped before a book appeared in the compartment and Pit fished it out.

"Here it is!" Pit said as he handed the book over to Mega Man.

The Blue Bomber took the book and analyzed the cover.

'Mega Man' was simply written on the hard cover with the book itself being colored blue. The book looked old in appearance, suggesting that it had been here for quite some time. Mega Man slowly opened the book and looked through its pages, not knowing exactly what he would find within the pages.

Everything was there.

The book started from the beginning when he first became Mega Man and fought Dr. Wily for the first time. Then it went on to his other adventures. He found a section talking about his battle with a dragon and how he had to jump from platform to platform inside Wily's second castle to fight it. Another section wrote about his first encounter with Proto Man and how he finally discovered that he was his brother. Other sections told how he and his rival Bass teamed up to stop a robot rebellion and another told how he saved Earth from an alien invasion. Of course, the stories were not told in startling detail, but were rather written in a way that one might tell them around a campfire. It's as if his adventures were fabled legends full of grandeur, heart-breaking moments, hope and drama. Mega Man never wanted to relive the painful memories of his adventures yet even he was still surprised that his crusades were held in high regard and possibly read about by other people from alternate universes here in Smash. A plethora of emotions were running rampant in his mind and the sheer intensity nearly brought a tear to his eye.

"Mega Man? Are you all right?" Pit asked, slightly concerned with how silent he was.

"I-I'm fine," Mega Man weakly said. "This is just a lot to take in."

"Oh uh, let's sit down then."

Both Smashers made it to a rest area and sat down on a couch. Mega Man was lost in thought while Pit looked on in worry. _Oh man, this was probably a mistake,_ Pit thought as he began to sweat. Meanwhile, the Blue Bomber still couldn't believe that his adventures were written on paper for everyone to see. It was quite flattering, but also surreal how his life could be documented on the pages of a book. It's almost as if a crazed fan spied on him and wrote everything about him. Just then, Mega Man's eyes lit up and he got an idea.

"Hey Pit, can the machine view the history of who checked out my book?"

"Yeah, why?"

"You see, I think someone has been spying on me for the past week and I need to find out who it is and what their intentions are. Maybe they checked out my book and they're just an admirer, but I have to make sure," Mega Man said.

Pit froze in absolute shock. So Mega Man did notice that he was there after all. The angel thought about coming up with an excuse or outright running out of there, but after thinking about what Palutena said to him last night he knew he couldn't do it.

He had to come clean.

"A-Actually, I'm the one who's been spying on you this whole week."

"W-What?"

Pit sighed. "It's true. I've been secretly following you around and taking pictures of you and I sort of made a hobby out of it."

He looked over at the shocked Mega Man and continued.

"But I didn't have any ill intent, I swear! I'll show you my photos later to prove it! It's just that I'm a big fan. I mean look at you! You've went on dozens of these big adventures, defeated evil robots and saved your home every time. Sure, I've done impressive things too, but I could never have done them alone. I've always needed to rely on Lady Palutena for help as well as some others because I just couldn't power through myself. Heck, I even need permission to fly! But you took the responsibility and role of a hero by choice and have been successful in protecting your world and the people you love countless times. That's why I never could've forced myself to talk to you. You're a better hero than I could ever be and I was nervous that you wouldn't see me as an equal."

Mega Man was speechless as he heard all of this. Of course, it all made sense. Pit's nervousness when they first met at breakfast this morning, his constant compliments about his battles in the first tournament and the fact that he read an entire book about his adventures all made it obvious that he was a huge fan. It wasn't hard to believe that he was the one who had been spying on him this whole time. While that problem was solved, the Blue Bomber had another problem at the moment and he felt his heart break. He needed to do something.

"You're wrong, Pit."

The angel raised his head from it's slouched position and looked at him.

"I may have done the things you've said, but I don't consider myself a hero. On that day when I became Mega Man, I did it because I knew the world needed hope and protection. I knew I had the power to step up to the plate and be more than the lab assistant I was supposed to be. From that point on, I fought not because I wanted to, but because I believed in a better future for my home. I believed that robots and humans could coexist in an era of peace with no one threatening its well-being. I've failed along the way, losing allies and making sacrifices in order to fight for that cause alone. And sometimes, I even had help myself and even though I never asked for it, I knew I needed the support. Pit, it doesn't matter if you needed help or didn't do nearly as much I did. As long as you fight for the good you believe in and never back down from those that threaten it, then you're a person who I admire most."

With that, Pit tackled Mega Man on the couch and gave him a bear hug.

"T-Thank you, Mega Man. That means so much to me…" Pit said, his voice somewhat muffled due to his face being smooshed against his metal chest. The angel nearly shed a tear at his idol's words and he held him even tighter when he recalled them over and over again.

Mega Man returned the hug with a chuckle. "Of course, Pit. Never forget what you're fighting for and how much you've done to make it closer to that goal."

"I won't forget. I'll continue fighting, Mega Man. Forever and ever."

Some time later, the two walked out of the Multiversal Library, chatting about the next upcoming tournament. Mega Man was glad knowing that Pit was back to his normal self. The Blue Bomber was touched knowing that his story had the ability to inspire others like Pit. Of course, he hoped that no one else took it negatively like Pit did and question themselves on based on his own merit, but just knowing that others could read his story and gain hope made his fight to achieve everlasting peace even more worth it. As for the other heroes who fought in the multiverse, he knew they were doing everything they could to maintain good and peace in their own respective worlds like he did.

If there was another thing Mega Man learned when it came to Smash, it was that everyone had something to fight for.

Some fought for justice and good, some fought for their own personal gain and others fought to simply watch everything burn. Regardless of what their intentions were, every Smasher had something to fight for and it's for that reason that their stories would continue to be written and told. Whatever message readers gained from their stories would continue the cycle. More and more stories would be added to the pages of the multiverse as the flow of existence went on for eternity undisturbed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, if you made it down here, I'm glad you enjoyed another nice helping of What It's Like Being a Smasher (or Smasher-verse for short). This chapter was heavily based on the Palutena's Guidance encounter with Mega Man in Smash 4 and Smash Ultimate. Pit, Palutena and Viridi seemed to be fangirling over Mega Man in the encounter and I just couldn't help but write about it and make it canon in this story in my own way. In that regard, if I made Pit or any of the other characters seem really OOC then I do apologize in advance. I try my best. But overall, this is just a fluff chapter and I'll begin writing the next installment as soon as possible. With that, ArceusXN is out of the building. Until next time.


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